An algorithm is a plan, a set of step-by-step instructions to resolve a problem. In an algorithm, each instruction is identified and the order in which they should be carried out is planned.
What is an algorithm?
Making a plan
It is important to plan out the solution to a problem to make sure that it will be correct. Using computational thinking and decomposition we can break down the problem into smaller parts and then we can plan out how they fit back together in a suitable order to solve the problem.
This order can be represented as an algorithm. An algorithm must be clear. It must have a starting point, a finishing point and a set of clear instructions in between.