A possible first step in solving the equation -7x - 5 = x + 3 is to add 7x to both sides of the equation. This will eliminate the -7x term on the left side and leave only the x term on the right side, making it easier to solve for x.
Adding 7x to both sides, we get:
-7x - 5 + 7x = x + 3 + 7x
Simplifying, we get:
-5 = 8x + 3
Now we can continue to solve for x by subtracting 3 from both sides and then dividing by 8:
-5 - 3 = 8x + 3 - 3
-8 = 8x
x = -1
Therefore, the solution to the equation -7x - 5 = x + 3 is x = -1.