A great help in analysing an essay question is to rewrite it into your own words. This is a good way of ensuring that you fully understand the question and can be a good starting point for writing a draft introduction. When rephrasing, be very careful that you keep the original meaning of the question; otherwise you may end up with an essay that doesn't answer the question. If you are in real doubt about the meaning of an essay question, check your understanding of what it means with the lecturer concerned.

Here's an example:

Account for the economic success of the newly industrialising countries of Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea since the 1960s.

Rephrased version:

Explain why Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea (which are all newly industrialising countries) have been economically successful since the 1960s.