How can I make sure my essays are well structured when writing under timed conditions?

If you approach essay writing with the right method and complete each one of the following steps, your essay will be well-structured and contain everything it needs to, even if you are under time pressure.
Step 1: Read the question carefully and consider what it is asking you. It is essential that your essay answers it directly. Highlight any key words and dates to establish what kind of evidence you need to be using, and whether there are any terms you need to define in your introduction.Typically, questions will ask you to what extent you agree with a point of view. For example: ‘To what extent was the failure of the Weimar Republic by 1933 due to the weaknesses in its constitution’. Here, the ‘failure of the Weimar Republic’ is a given, it is your job to decide what caused it.
Step 2: Plan your answer.The best essays are answered thematically. When discussing the failure of the Weimar Republic, your themes will be various causes, as identified by the question. The question has already given you one which you need to address (the weaknesses in Weimar constitution), but others you could tackle are, the Great Depression, the role of Hitler and the Nazi party or hostility from the German elites. You should aim to cover 3-4 themes to get enough depth and breadth in your essay within the time limit.Once you’ve established the themes you want to address (and some potential evidence that might go with them) you’ll need to decide what your overall judgement is going to be. For example: ‘The Great Depression was a more significant cause for the downfall of the Weimar Republic, as it exposed the weaknesses in the constitution and gave rise to the Nazi party's success’. It is crucial that you decide this before you start writing your essay, and keep it in mind throughout, as your main argument should be the driving force behind all of your evaluation.
Step 3: Write your introduction. Here you need to directly address the question and what your stance is. You DO NOT need any specific evidence. You should clearly state your judgement, the themes that you are going to address, as well as defining the key terms in the question. With our example, make clear what you consider to be a ‘cause’ (long term, short term) and a ‘weakness’, to establish how you have chosen to interpret the question.
Step 4: You can now write the main bulk of your essay. Here you evaluate each of the themes in turn. Each paragraph should follow the PEEL structure:Point- Start by explaining what the theme is and why it is significant/needs to be addressed. Then offer plenty of evidence (dates, names, statistics, events, quotes) and an explanation of why they are relevant to what you are trying to say. At the end of the paragraph make sure you give a concluding statement by linking the theme back to the question and your main argument. Whilst writing the bulk, keep in mind what your main argument is and don’t deviate too far from it. You can give counter evidence, but none of your judgments should fundamentally contradict what your essay is trying to say. This ensures your essay is clear and coherent throughout.
Step 5: Write your conclusion. Here you should give a summary and offer your final judgement (which should be the same as the one stated in your introduction). You should not bring in any new information or facts, but simply weigh out all the points already made. You do not necessarily have to give a definitive yes or no answer (in some cases it is good to show nuance) as long as you make clear what your point of view is and give enough reasoning to explain how you got there.
This may all seem daunting, but with enough practice this style of writing will start to come naturally!