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Prompt Engineering~15 min
Steering Reasoning and Output Format: Chain-of-Thought, Extended Thinking, and Format Control
Decide when to invest in reasoning, distinguish prompted chain-of-thought from the extended thinking feature, and steer output format and length with direct instructions, Structured Outputs, and temperature.
What you will be able to do
- ✓Describe the accuracy-versus-tokens/latency tradeoff of chain-of-thought and when it is and is not worth it
- ✓Distinguish prompted 'think step by step' from extended thinking as a model feature with a thinking budget separate from the answer
- ✓Control output format and strip unwanted preambles with clear instructions, Structured Outputs, and forced tool use rather than prefilling
- ✓Use temperature appropriately: low for deterministic/structured tasks, high for creative diversity
4 concepts·7 hands-on exercises·3-question check