All I do is keep looking through the question going through the BIDMAS rule.
1. Look through for brackets then calculate that first.
2. Look through the question again for indices (powers) and calculate them - ie [tex] 2^{2} [/tex] would turn to 4.
3. Carry on for division and multiplication, and addition and subtraction.
Example:
[tex](2+2)^{2} *4+1[/tex]
Step 1- brackets: [tex] 4^{2}*4+1 [/tex]
Step 2 - indices: [tex]16*4+1[/tex]
Step 3 - div/mul: [tex]64+1[/tex]
Step 4 - add/sub: 65
