Remember that order of operations follows this pattern -- parentheses, exponents, multiplication/division and addition/subtraction. To remember this pattern, remember the phrase "Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally" or "Purple Eggs Mashed Down Atop Salad." Any little rhymes that will spark your memory will serve you well.
Write out the full expression and work slowly as you break the expression into parts. Use this expression as an example:
4 raised to 1/2
This is a simple exponent expression.
Rewrite the exponent expression to reflect a square root. In the case of our example, the 1/2 exponent can be rewritten as a square root. To do this, write "4" on a piece of paper. Cover the "4" with the square root symbol -- which essentially is a check mark that starts to the left of the four and extends into a horizontal line across the top of the four. Place the "4" and square root symbol in parentheses. This indicates that you must solve what is inside the parentheses first. Finally, write the "1" as an exponent outside of the parentheses.
Compute the expression inside the parentheses, following Order of Operations. The square root of 4 is 2. Now compute the exponent. The number 2 raised to the first power is 2. Your final answer is 2.