Prompt Engineering~12 min

Prompt Foundations: System Prompts, Roles, and Being Clear and Direct

Set durable behavior with the system prompt and role prompting, then write instructions that are explicit, positive, and context-rich.

What you will be able to do

✓Distinguish the persistent system prompt from turn-by-turn user messages and place rules and personas correctly
✓Use role prompting in the system parameter to steer tone, expertise, and behavior across a conversation
✓Apply Anthropic's 'be clear and direct' guidance: explicit, specific, positively-framed instructions with context and motivation
✓Recognize why stable, lengthy system instructions are a strong candidate for prompt caching

3 concepts·6 hands-on exercises·3-question check