Where should I start when answering a question that involves an extract from the text?

Before even getting to the question, have a read through of the extract to make sure you fully understand what is happening at this point in the text. Then look at the question and highlight the key theme or character that you are being asked to focus on. For example 'Explore how Shakespeare presents love...' with 'love' being the key. Re-read the text and, with the focus in mind, begin to highlight any words or phrases you feel are relevant, for example words that have connotations with the theme of love like 'heart', 'emotion' etc. Try to choose words/phrases that contain a sophisticated feature such as a simile or a word that evokes imagery to showcase your knowledge!
Try to group what you have - for example one group of words/phrases may present love as harmful, one group may present it as precious. It is best to expand beyond 'love is good' and 'love is bad' into something deeper. Once you have a few ideas, outline them in your introduction - (no more than 3 sentences!) - and begin your essay spending one paragraph on each idea using a range of your examples picked out of the extract, keeping a tight link to the question focus at all times.