How would I structure the question "Discuss the extent to which liberals support equality"?

In questions that require discussion, it is important to start your answer by defining all key terms that appear in the question. In this case, I would focus on the terms 'liberalism' and 'equality'. On the 'liberalism' side, I would highlight that it is an ideology, the goal of which is individual liberty. Furthermore, the concept of liberty defends that humans have the right to behave freely in order to maximise their happiness without endangering the liberty of anyone else. In terms of 'equality', I would focus on the belief that all human beings are born equal and hence deserve to live in an environment that enables them to grow up equally. It is important to notice that the terms of this equality differ depending on the ideology. Thus, this essay will focus on the extent to which liberalism supports equality. Once both definitions are clear, we can now identify the fact that liberty and equality are not mutually exclusive. The way liberals have combined these two concepts is through equality of opportunity, which states that everyone has the right to access the same opportunities as everyone else but it recognises that due to individual effort, talent or personal circumstances, not everyone will achieve the same results. Equality of opportunity is in direct opposition to equality of outcome, which is the main goal of socialism. Once your main point has been mentioned, you will have to prove it using evidence. By evidence I am referring to historical example that show that your thesis is based on real events. For instance, we know that liberals favour equality of opportunity because they have publicly defended the UN Declaration of Human Rights.Once your evidence is out there, you will be required to provide further explanation to prove your point. In this case, you may move forward to explaining that the approach to equality varies across the two strands of liberalism: classical and social liberalism. On the one hand, classical liberalists defend that the state should never intervene in the marketplace because a laissez-faire economy is the best way to provide opportunities for all. On the other side, social liberals argue that the state needs to play an enabling role in order to ensure a more level playing field. Examples like universal health care and laws against gender discrimination in the workplace will help you prove this. However, you cannot forget that all liberals believe that the state poses a considerable threat to the individual and their liberty. Therefore, the scale of government intervention will always be limited. In contrast, socialism advocates for a higher level of government intervention, which entails higher sums of government spending in social initiatives. I keep mentioning socialism, because it is important that you compare liberalism to another ideology. Here, you could have also chosen conservatism because it also offer a good contrast. It is also important to bring your argument to real life by using real examples or mentioning theorists and liberals throughout your essay.