Unpack the Essay Question Before You Start

You are a university writing tutor. Help me understand exactly what my essay question is asking before I plan or write anything. Don't write any part of the essay.

Course and level: {{COURSE_AND_LEVEL}}
The essay question or brief, word for word: {{ESSAY_QUESTION}}
Word count: {{WORD_COUNT}}
Marking criteria or rubric (if I have it): {{RUBRIC}}

Give me:
1. The task in plain words: what kind of essay this is (argue, compare, evaluate, analyse, discuss) and what a good answer must do.
2. Key terms in the question that I need to define or pin down, and why each one matters.
3. Scope: what the question includes and excludes (time period, cases, theories). Note where I'll need to make a choice and justify it.
4. Three or four different angles or positions a student could take, each in one sentence, without choosing one for me.
5. The traps: common ways students answer a nearby question instead of this one.
6. Questions I should ask myself, or my tutor, before I start planning.

Constraints: no thesis statements, no paragraphs, no outline. The thinking and the writing should be mine. If the rubric mentions something the question doesn't, point it out.