A five-page paper should be five pages, not 4 pp. and 1 paragraph, not 5 pp. One deficient page costs one letter grade. Use them at your own risk. Procedure A. Getting started Write a first draft. Do not hand in a first draft.
Writing takes time.
Give yourself plenty of it. Review your notes from lectures and recitations, brainstorm, test potential theses on classmates, roommates, me, your recitation leader, etc., outline, write, and revise. Repeat steps 2-4. A specific direction for your paper is likely to emerge from this process. The first paragraph must state a thesis.