Chain of Thought — Step-by-Step Reasoner

I need help reasoning through a complex problem. Please think step by step before giving me your answer.

**My problem / question:**
[DESCRIBE YOUR PROBLEM IN DETAIL]

**Relevant context and constraints:**
[ANY INFORMATION THAT SHOULD INFORM THE REASONING]

**What I've already considered:**
[YOUR CURRENT THINKING — even if incomplete]

**The type of answer I need:**
[e.g., a decision / a calculation / an analysis / a plan / an explanation]

Before answering:
1. Restate the problem in your own words to confirm you understand it
2. Identify what information is known vs. unknown
3. Break the problem into sub-problems or steps
4. Reason through each step explicitly — show your work
5. Check your reasoning: does the conclusion follow from the steps?
6. State your final answer clearly, separately from the reasoning
7. Note your confidence level and what would change your answer

If there are multiple valid approaches, reason through the most promising one and briefly describe the alternatives.

Do not jump to conclusions. Take as much space as you need to reason carefully.
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## When to use this
Multi-variable decisions, mathematical problems, logical puzzles, debugging complex systems, or any situation where you need Claude to "show its work."

## Tips
- This is one of the most research-backed prompt engineering techniques — chain-of-thought significantly improves accuracy
- Add "If you realize midway that your earlier reasoning was wrong, correct it explicitly" for added rigor
- For math problems, add: "Double-check your arithmetic before giving the final answer"