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Debug a prompt that produces inconsistent output formatting across runs
This prompt produces the right content but inconsistent formatting run to run (sometimes markdown, sometimes plain text, sometimes different heading structure). Help me fix the actual cause. Given the prompt and 3-4 example outputs showing the inconsistency: prompt / example_outputs
1. Check whether the prompt actually specifies a format at all, versus implies one loosely through an example that could be read as illustrative rather than prescriptive - this is the most common root cause and I want it ruled in or out explicitly first.
2. If a format is specified, check whether it's specified precisely enough (e.g. 'use headers' doesn't say what level, what if any bold/italic is expected) - ambiguity in the spec, not model unreliability, is often the real cause.
3. Check if the inconsistency correlates with anything about the input (longer inputs get different formatting than short ones, certain topics trigger different structure) rather than being purely random, since that points to a different fix (an input-dependent rule) than pure underspecification.
4. Propose the exact formatting specification to add, and if useful, one formatted example to lock in the structure as few-shot, weighing that against the added token cost.
5. If none of the above explains it, say so and suggest it may need output post-processing/validation rather than a prompt fix, since not every consistency problem is solvable purely at the prompt level.
Prompt: prompt
Example outputs showing inconsistency: example_outputs