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Delimiters & XML Tags
XML tags (especially in Claude) are the most reliable way to separate context blocks.
1 hours1 resources1 prereqs
When instruction, examples, context, and output specs are clearly separated, the model doesn't confuse them.
Pattern:
<task>...</task>
<examples>
<example>
<input>...</input>
<output>...</output>
</example>
</examples>
<input>...</input>
<output_format>JSON: {...}</output_format>
Claude is specifically trained on this pattern. It also works on GPT/Gemini, where markdown headers may be sufficient.