Read the word problem completely and then break the problem down into separate sentences. Read each sentence individually.
Locate the sentence that asks for the solution to the question. For instance, a word problem may state "Mrs. Miller has a fruit stand that sells apples for a price of 4 for $1.00 and oranges for a price of 3 for $1.00. She also sells bananas for 33 cents apiece. Mrs. Miller does not sell single apples or oranges. Jack bought 12 apples and 9 oranges. How much money did Jack spend?" The last sentence is the actual question.
Extract the pertinent information to the question. In the problem about the fruit stand, Jack bought apples and oranges. The problem asks how much Jack spent, so the important information is the price of the apples and oranges.
Create an equation to solve for the answer. For instance, apples + oranges = X. In this instance, you must calculate that 12 apples cost $4.00 and 9 oranges cost $3.00.
Solve the equation substituting the given values for the words in the equation. As an example, substitute $4.00 and $3.00 for the words "apples" and "oranges." The question, "How much money did Jack spend?" is $7.00. Bananas and selling fruit individually did not factor into the equation.