How do I make a '5-minute plan' for my essays, and how does that change when I do different questions?

There are two distinct questions here: the first is the important things to bear in mind when planning out your essays in exams, and the second is how your 'template' might change depending on the kind of question you are answering. Here are the steps that I go through when doing a '5-minute plan':

The first and most important step is to decide on your overall argument. If the question is a statement, do you agree with it? To what extent do you agree/ disagree?

The second step is to plan out each paragraph, writing in a single sentence what the 'point' of each paragraph is.

The third step is to put the 'evidence' under the 'point' of every paragraph. Make a brief note of all the evidence you will use to back up the point.

Finally, remember to Keep It Simple, Stupid (KISS)! This is only a five minute plan to get your thoughts in order, not your first novel, so remember to keep it as simple as you can.

The structure above is a good template, but it might change a little depending on the kind of question you are answering. Here are some things to bear in mind when tweaking your '5-minute plan':

How much time you have. If you have 45 minutes to answer a question you should really not aim to write more than 4 or 5 paragraphs, if you have three hours you can be more ambitious.

How much the question 'guides' you. If the question is a straight: 'do you agree with statement X', then your paragraphs should always be extremely targeted towards the question. More open-ended questions allow for more flexibility.

Whether the question is asking for 'breadth' or 'depth'. This is probably the hardest one to get the hang of, but getting a feel for how much breadth or depth a question is asking for is a really useful exam skill. Questions asking for depth score well when students use lots of specific evidence, whereas questions asking for breadth are more weighted towards strong, coherent arguments. The main thing to bear in mind here is another golden rule: Answer The Fricking Question (ATFQ)!