The task at hand in Freshman Composition for the past week has been to write an essay. Students were told to pick one out of five essay questions to address. My essay question was "Identify common depiction patterns of Blacks, Latinos and/or Native Americans. Do you see parallels between Black, Latino, and Native American stereotypes perpetuated in U.S. culture?" Normally, I would look at this assignment as just another essay for school. I've never actually took the time to focus on planning out my essays before I wrote them. My goal was to just write the essay and get it done. Through the lessons that Dr. Diaz has taught during class, and the homework assignments that she has given I am slowly but surely learning the value of planning. She has given numerous assignments in which we learn new ways of planning and structuring our essays such as the Toulmin strategy. I appreciate all the time and effort that Dr. Diaz has put into teaching us effective planning. The tools and methods that she provided us with are useful and have made the writing process a whole lot smoother. Mapping out all of your thoughts every step of the way helps to make your ideas and points come across clearer  I also think that the essay questions that she provided are interesting. Writing about topics that catch your interest also make the writing process fun. Surprisingly, I am actually excited to write my essay and get Dr. Diaz's feedback.