Prompt Engineering Fundamentals
Last reviewed
Correct answer: C. State the format explicitly, and show that structure in your examples as well
Explanation
The principle — An unstated format is a decision you have delegated. The model will make it, reasonably, and often not the way you needed.
Why the key is correct — Google's checklist says to avoid leaving the model to guess the structure of the output and instead use a clear, explicit instruction to specify the format and show the output structure in your few-shot examples. Both halves are asked for.
Why the others are wrong — Reformatting afterwards costs a round trip that one sentence would have saved. Examples alone leave the rule implicit. And an audience description constrains tone, not structure.
Remember this — Name the format in the instruction, and demonstrate it in the examples.
Sources — Google Cloud, Overview of prompting strategies.
Sources
“Avoid leaving the model to guess the structure of the output; instead, use a clear, explicit instruction to specify the format and show the output structure in your few-shot examples.”
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