How do you write a worthwhile plan under exam pressure?

Possibly the most crucial element to writing a good history essay is a plan. However, this is not always easy under exam conditions and the temptation to dive straight into writing your answer is always there. It is wise to exercise restraint when considering beginning an answer immediately though; planning your answer allows you to gather your thoughts and produce a coherent and well structured answer. If you have prepared well enough for the exam you should be able to produce an effective plan within a five to ten minute slot.
Practice is generally the best way to make sure you are able to get all your thoughts down onto the page in an organised fashion. Set yourself a timer for 5-10 minutes and plan practice questions. Not only does this aid planning, but it will also benefit your learning the subject material in a concise and easy to remember way. Worthwhile and effective plans will have a structure. Try and get down on the page an Intro, Middle and Concluding section where you can write down key words and phrases with relevant historiography if it is required for the question. It is also useful to gage your general argument and answer to the question in the plan. This will mean that when you refer back to it during the exam you will not stray from the question and your line of argument.