When given an equation with both letters and numbers on each side of the equals sign, for instance 4x +3 = 5x - 3, how do you know what to do first?

With equations like this the most important thing is that you end up with all the numbers on one hand side and all the letters on the other side. People often think there is a 'right' and 'wrong' order to do this, for instace letters first, but the truth is there is often a more simple order in which to do it, but there will be many different ways of achieving the same result, which can sometimes be confusing. 

My advice to students on this topic is to try and make life as easy as possible for yourselves. One way is to try and keep the letter value positive, so in my example question I would say taking 4x from both sides would be simpler than taking 5x from both sides as you won't have to worry about negative x values. There are many more little things similar to that one that will make solving equations easier and quicker and with time constraints on exams, saving a little time could make a huge difference.