In recent years, efforts are being made at all levels of education to prescribe instructional actions that would optimize desired instructional outcomes. Component display theory (CDT), a micro level instructional design theory proposed by Merrill (1983), offers guidelines and prescriptions to present components of instruction to teach facts, concepts, procedures, and principles. In this study, CDT prescriptions were used to design two instructional modules on (copyright and fair use concepts) for undergraduate students at a large public university in the United States. Formative research methods and restricted quantitative methods were employed to explore the instances by using debriefing (semi-structured) interviews, observation, document analysis, and achievement test items as data. Despite the evidence that supports CDT, most of the empirical studies were conducted in the early development of the theory. Based on available literature, there are no empirical studies that have investigated strengths, weaknesses, or possible improvement of CDT using a formative research approach. Hence, the purpose of this study is to evaluate CDT prescriptions by answering the following questions: 1) What are the strengths and challenges of utilizing CDT in computer-based instruction? 2) What improvements or modifications can be made to CDT to increase its relevance to computer-based instruction? And, 3) Are all CDT presentation forms necessary for designing quality computer-based instruction? The findings of the study suggest that the presentational sequence of CDT's primary presentation form (i.e., generality + instance + practice) could engage the learner in concept knowledge acquisition. Learner perception of the content presentation was positive. In general, it was evident that the secondary presentation forms offered substantial support to the learner and it is recommended that they are treated as a requirement instead of an option. However, design priority should still be placed on primary presentation forms because it is the main vehicle of instruction. The analytical nature of CDT stands out to be the most prominent challenge when applying the theory to design instruction. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]