frameworks
About a hundred prompt frameworks are in circulation. Six have an author you can check.
The rest are conventions with an acronym, and several have two or three incompatible expansions live at the same time. These write-ups sort them by provenance, so you can tell which ones you can safely cite.
ACT: the framework where the sources disagree, and why that matters
Tier A · 4 min · Prompt structureTwo incompatible expansions in active use. Here is what to do about it.
Anthropic XML tags: the clearest prompting technique, and its own caveat
Tier A · 3 min · Vendor guidanceNo acronym. Wrap each kind of content in its own tag.
APE: Action, Purpose, Expectation
Tier A · 3 min · Prompt structureA goal-shaped variant of RTF for when you know the outcome but not the format.
The AWS ten-part prompt, and the step nobody copies
Tier A · 3 min · Vendor guidanceA numbered build order, not an acronym. Step 10 is the one to steal.
BABB: Background, Action, Benchmark, Baseline
Tier A · 3 min · Prompt structureAnthropic's framework for prompts that must exceed a floor.
CO-STAR: the prompt framework with an actual author
Tier A · 5 min · Prompt structureSix slots that force you to name your audience before you write anything.
Google's twelve prompt components, and the two most people never fill in
Tier A · 3 min · Vendor guidanceA component checklist, not an acronym. Two slots are almost always skipped.
RTF: Role, Task, Format, and why three slots beat seven
Tier A · 3 min · Prompt structureThree slots. Almost always enough.