Few-shot examples

Few-shot examples are two to five sample inputs, each with its ideal output, placed in the prompt. They are often the fastest way to fix format and tone, because an example is harder to misread than a description. Choose them on purpose.

Cover the common case, an edge case, and a case where the right answer is a refusal or "unknown". Mark them clearly as examples, for instance inside <example> tags, so the model does not treat them as real input. Watch out for copying.

Models imitate surface details, so if all three examples start the same way or all have three items, the outputs will too. Vary them. And never reuse your eval questions as examples, or your tests only check what you already showed the model.