This collection of 11 papers contains three types of papers: (1) 1991 Speech Communication Association Basic Course Committee award winning papers; (2) articles on the basic communication course; and (3) the public speaking basic course. The papers are: "Academic Success in the Basic Course: The Influence of Apprehension and Demographics" (Charles A. Lubbers and Diane Atkinson Gorcyca); "Basic Public Speaking Principles: An Examination of Twelve Popular Texts" (Jon A. Hess and Judy C. Pearson); "Evaluation of a Basic Communication Course" (Wendy S. Zabava Ford and Andrew D. Wolvin); "Critical Thinking Is/As Communication" (Warren Sandmann); "Video-Modeling and Pre-Performance Apprehension: Is Ignorance Bliss?" (Craig Newburger and Michael Hemphill); "Directing the Basic Communication Course: Eighteen Years Later" (Richard L. Weaver II and Howard W. Cotrell); "To Say or Not; To Do or Not--Those Are the Questions: Sexual Harassment and the Basic Course Instructor" (Mary M. Gill and William J. Wardrope); "Teaching Public Speaking as Composition" (Michael Leff); "Be Relevant, Careful, and Appropriate: Scary Advice on the Use of Humor to the Novice Public Speaker" (Judythe A. Isserlis); "The Introduction of a Speech: Do Good Introductions Predict a Good Speech?" (Valerie A. Whitecap); and "The Use of Role Models in Teaching Public Speaking" (Lauren A. Vicker). (RS)