Lizzy: John spent 3 years of his life exploring the jungle. He then spent half as much time writing up notes about his travels. It took .5 years to write his book once he was done with the notes. How long did he spend on his book and exploring?.
Me: Hmmm, let me think. I think this is the detailed solution:

Show your work and conclude with the exact phrasing "Therefore, the final answer is [answer]." where [answer] is just the final number or expression that solves the problem.
user
He spent 3 * .5 = 1.5 years compiling notes. So it took him 3 + 1.5 + .5 = 5 years for everything. Final answer: 5.