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Chapter 2: Fundamentals of Prompt Engineering

This chapter covers the essential skills and techniques for effective prompt engineering, from crafting basic prompts to understanding common patterns and pitfalls.

Series in This Chapter​

Series 1: Crafting Effective Prompts​

  • Article 16: The Anatomy of a Good Prompt in 2025
  • Article 17: Zero-Shot Prompting: The Foundation
  • Article 18: Few-Shot Prompting: Learning from Examples
  • Article 19: The Power of Instructions: Clarity and Precision
  • Article 20: Using Personas and Role-Playing Effectively

Series 2: Advanced Prompt Structure​

  • Article 21: The Art of Prompt Formatting and Delimiters
  • Article 22: System Messages vs. User Messages: Best Practices
  • Article 23: Prompt Chaining and Sequential Reasoning
  • Article 24: The Art of Iteration: Refining Your Prompts
  • Article 25: A/B Testing Your Prompts for Optimal Performance

Series 3: Common Patterns and Mistakes​

  • Article 26: The Impact of Prompt Length on Response Quality
  • Article 27: How to Deal with "I don't know" Responses
  • Article 28: Common Prompting Mistakes to Avoid
  • Article 29: Techniques for Reducing Bias in LLM Outputs
  • Article 30: Understanding and Working with Model Limitations

Learning Objectives​

By the end of this chapter, you will:

  • Master the fundamentals of prompt construction
  • Understand different prompting strategies and when to use them
  • Know how to structure prompts for maximum effectiveness
  • Recognize and avoid common prompting mistakes
  • Be able to iterate and improve your prompts systematically