Decide the topic or subject matter. For example, if you like baking, make a word problem about cookies.
Decide upon the variable for your word problem. Although most equations use the letter "X" as the variable, you can use any letter you want. For example, if your word problem is about cookies, you could substitute the letter "C" to represent a filled box of cookies.
Assign a value for your variable. For this example, C = 12.
Create a scenario where someone has to figure out the value of the variable. For example, if you have 41 total cookies, how many full boxes of cookies do you have and how many cookies are left over? Your two-step word problem would appear something like:
Barbie Baker has three full boxes of cookies and five left over. If she made 41 total cookies and each box has the same number of cookies, how many cookies are in each full box?
To answer the word problem you'd write down the equation: 3C + 5 = 41.
Solve the equation by treating each side of the problem the same. First subtract 5 from each side of the example problem to tell you that 3C = 36. Divide each side by 3 to leave you with C = 12.