Describe the output contract
State the audience, goal, constraints, and required fields. Add a small representative example when it clarifies an ambiguous format. Avoid contradictory instructions and do not bury mandatory rules in a long block of background material.
Define uncertainty behavior
Tell the system when to ask for missing information, cite a source, or abstain. A requirement to always produce an answer encourages unsupported guesses. Distinguish instructions from quoted material that the system is supposed to analyze.
Check against a rubric
Define correctness, completeness, source support, and format compliance separately. A response can be beautifully written but factually wrong. Use representative cases and explicit expected properties instead of judging only whether the result sounds good.
A worked example
Require the response to use the supplied policy, identify missing purchase details, and avoid promises not supported by that policy. Score policy accuracy separately from tone.
The point: Style and correctness are separate dimensions.
Before you take the exam
Explain these concepts in your own words, work through a different example, and describe why the tempting alternatives fail. Use the references to go deeper.