$$ \begin{aligned} 4a+3 &= 3a+8&& \text{move the $ \color{blue}{ 3a } $ to the left side and $ \color{blue}{ 3 }$ to the right} \\[1 em]4a-3a &= 8-3&& \text{simplify left and right hand side} \\[1 em]a &= 5&& \\[1 em]a &= 5&& \\[1 em] \end{aligned} $$