Building Complex Prompts

Combining Everything

Real-world prompts combine multiple techniques: role assignment, XML structuring, data separation, output formatting, chain-of-thought, few-shot examples, and hallucination guardrails.

The Anatomy of a Production Prompt

1. System prompt: Role assignment + persistent rules
2. Context section: Background data wrapped in XML tags
3. Examples section: Few-shot examples in <example> tags
4. Task instructions: Clear, specific directives
5. Output format: Exact shape of the expected response
6. Guardrails: What to do in edge cases (missing data, ambiguity, out-of-scope questions)

Building It Up

Start simple, then layer:

1. Write the core instruction.
2. Add role context.
3. Separate data with XML tags.
4. Specify output format.
5. Add examples for ambiguous cases.
6. Add guardrails for edge cases.

Key Takeaways

• Production prompts layer multiple techniques; no single trick is enough.
• Build prompts iteratively — start with the core instruction and add structure.
• Always include guardrails for what to do when things go wrong.