prompt patterns that survive every model update

the stuff that's kept working across like four generations of models now. not a prompt library, just what i reach for.

give me your reasoning before the final answer

works even when the model changes how it thinks internally, you're just asking it to show its work

ask me clarifying questions first

skip this on simple stuff, it just adds a round trip

here's an example of the exact format I want

one good example beats three paragraphs of instructions

act like a skeptical editor, not a cheerleader

list what you're not sure about

this is the one that actually catches hallucinations, not 'be accurate'

keep going until X is true, don't stop at the first attempt

explain it like I'm a smart 12 year old

forces it to drop jargon instead of just shortening the sentence

here's what I tried and why it didn't work

pretend this is a draft, be harsh

one change at a time

for code or long docs, stops it rewriting stuff you didn't touch

cite where each fact came from

doesn't guarantee it's right but makes it check itself

no filler sentence before the answer

canceled my sub to a tool that literally just wrapped this one prompt in a UI

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