Who it's for
For people who already write prompts every day and want steadier results. If the basics are new, take the prompt engineering course first. A few examples use short Python scripts with an API key.
Lessons
- 1Few-shot prompting: how many examples, in what format and orderFew-shot prompting with worked examples: how many to add, how to format and order them in XML tags, what models copy, and when zero-shot is enough.
- 2Chain of thought prompting: when to ask for steps and when to set the effortChain of thought prompting explained: when asking a model for its steps helps, why reasoning models skip it, and how to set the effort on OpenAI and Claude.
- 3Prompt chaining: split a big task into prompts that pass results alongPrompt chaining splits one task into prompts that hand their output along. Run a four-step chain, add gates between steps and see when a chain wins.
- 4Prompt templates: a fixed part, named variables and a home in version controlPrompt templates split a prompt into fixed instructions and named variables. Fill one safely, order it for prompt caching and keep it under version control.
Frequently asked questions
Is this advanced prompt engineering course free?
Yes. Every lesson is free to read. Some exercises work in a chat app, but most of the Python samples call an API and need a key from that provider, who may bill for its use.
How is it different from the prompt engineering course?
It starts where that course ends. The first course covers clear instructions, system prompts and the context window. This one covers examples, reasoning, chains and templates for prompts you reuse.
Do reasoning models still need chain of thought prompts?
Usually not. OpenAI's reasoning best practices call telling its reasoning models to think step by step unnecessary, since they reason before they answer. On OpenAI and Claude you set how hard they think with the effort setting instead.
What should I learn after this course?
The Reasoning models course is next. It covers models that think before they answer: how to prompt them, how to set their reasoning effort and when they are worth the extra time.