Four Level Framework for Prompt Engineering

README.md

Four Level framework for prompt engineering

Watch the breakdown here in a Q4 2024 prompt engineering update video

LLM library

Ollama

Level 1: Ad hoc prompt

• Quick, natural language prompts for rapid prototyping
• Perfect for exploring model capabilities and behaviors
• Can be run across multiple models for comparison
• Great for one-off tasks and experimentation

Level 2: Structured prompt

• Reusable prompts with clear purpose and instructions
• Uses XML/structured format for better model performance
• Contains static variables that can be modified
• Solves well-defined, repeatable problems

Level 3: Structured prompt with example output

• Builds on Level 2 by adding example outputs
• Examples guide the model to produce specific formats
• Increases consistency and reliability of outputs
• Perfect for when output format matters

Level 4: Structured prompt with dynamic content

• Production-ready prompts with dynamic variables
• Can be integrated into code and applications
• Infinitely scalable through programmatic updates
• Foundation for building AI-powered tools and agents

level_1_prompt_summarize.xml

Summarize the content with 3 hot takes biased toward the author and 3 hot takes biased against the author

...paste content here...

level_2_prompt_summarize.xml

<purpose>
    Summarize the given content based on the instructions and example-output
</purpose>

<instructions>
   <instruction>Output in markdown format</instruction>
   <instruction>Summarize into 4 sections: High level summary, Main Points, Sentiment, and 3 hot takes biased toward the author and 3 hot takes biased against the author</instruction>
   <instruction>Write the summary in the same format as the example-output</instruction>
</instructions>

<content>
    {...} <<< update this manually
</content>

level_3_prompt_summarize.xml

<purpose>
    Summarize the given content based on the instructions and example-output
</purpose>

<instructions>
   <instruction>Output in markdown format</instruction>
   <instruction>Summarize into 4 sections: High level summary, Main Points, Sentiment, and 3 hot takes biased toward the author and 3 hot takes biased against the author</instruction>
   <instruction>Write the summary in the same format as the example-output</instruction>
</instructions>

<example-output>

    # Title

    ## High Level Summary
    ...

    ## Main Points
    ...

    ## Sentiment
    ...

    ## Hot Takes (biased toward the author)
    ...

    ## Hot Takes (biased against the author)
    ...
</example-output>

<content>
    {...} <<< update this manually
</content>

level_4_prompt_summarize.xml

<purpose>
    Summarize the given content based on the instructions and example-output
</purpose>

<instructions>
   <instruction>Output in markdown format</instruction>
   <instruction>Summarize into 4 sections: High level summary, Main Points, Sentiment, and 3 hot takes biased toward the author and 3 hot takes biased against the author</instruction>
   <instruction>Write the summary in the same format as the example-output</instruction>
</instructions>

<example-output>

    # Title

    ## High Level Summary
    ...

    ## Main Points
    ...

    ## Sentiment
    ...

    ## Hot Takes (biased toward the author)
    ...

    ## Hot Takes (biased against the author)
    ...
</example-output>

<content>
    {{content}} <<< update this dynamically with code
</content>

vscode_structured_prompt_code_snippet.code-snippet

{
  "XML Prompt Block 1": {
		"prefix": "px1",
		"body": [
			"<purpose>",
			"    $1",
			"</purpose>",
			"",
			"<instructions>",
			"   <instruction>$2</instruction>",
			"   <instruction>$3</instruction>",
			"   <instruction>$4</instruction>",
			"</instructions>",
			"",
			"<${5:block1}>",
			"$6",
			"</${5:block1}>"
		],
		"description": "Generate XML prompt block with instructions and block1"
	},
  "XML Tag Snippet Inline": {
		"prefix": "xxi",
		"body": [
			"<${1:tag}>$2</${1:tag}>",
		],
		"description": "Create an XML tag with a customizable tag name and content"
	}
}