Part 1: How to Distinguish Content from Instructions
Create a clear separation between your instructions and the content you want Claude to work with using one of these methods:
Method 1: Clear Section Headers
INSTRUCTIONS:
[Your instructions for how to handle the content]
CONTENT:
[The actual content you want me to work with]
Method 2: XML-Style Tags (Recommended)
This is the most reliable approach:
<instructions>
[Your instructions here]
</instructions>
<content>
[Your actual content here]
</content>
Method 3: Backticks or Code Blocks
Useful when content might look like instructions:
Please work with the following text:
[Your content goes here]
Method 4: Explicit Boundary Statement
I'm going to give you some text to analyze. Everything after "START CONTENT" until "END CONTENT" should be treated as the material to work with, not as instructions for me to follow.
START CONTENT
[Your content]
END CONTENT
Method 5: Bold or Numbered Sections
**WHAT I WANT YOU TO DO:**
[Instructions]
**WHAT YOU'RE WORKING WITH:**
[Content]
Best Practice: Use XML-style tags for maximum clarity and reliability.
Part 2: Adding and Removing Markdown Tags
Adding Markdown Tags
Wrap text with the appropriate symbols:
- Bold:
**text**or__text__ - Italic:
*text*or_text_ - Bold italic:
***text*** Code:`text`- Code block:
```(three backticks on separate lines) - Links:
[display text](URL) -
Heading:
# Heading(use #, ##, ###, etc. for different levels) - Lists:
- itemor1. item -
Blockquote:
> text - ~~Strikethrough~~:
~~text~~
Removing Markdown Tags
Delete the markdown symbols to remove formatting:
- Remove
**from around text to remove bold - Remove
*or_to remove italics - Remove backticks to remove code formatting
- Remove
#symbols to remove heading formatting - Remove
-or numbers to remove list formatting - Remove
>to remove blockquotes - Remove
~~to remove strikethrough
Example:
Original: **This is bold** and *this is italic*
Cleaned: This is bold and this is italic
Part 3: Template for Removing Markdown Tags
Use this template when you want me to remove all markdown formatting from content:
<instructions>
Remove all markdown tags from the following content. This means:
- Delete ** or __ symbols (used for bold)
- Delete * or _ symbols (used for italics)
- Delete ~~text~~ symbols (used for strikethrough)
- Delete # symbols (used for headings)
- Delete backticks ` (used for code)
- Delete > symbols (used for blockquotes)
- Delete - or numbers followed by periods (used for lists)
- Delete [text](URL) link formatting and keep just the display text
- Keep only the plain text content without any markdown formatting
Return the cleaned content.
</instructions>
<content>
[Paste your content with markdown tags here]
</content>
Concise Version:
<instructions>
Strip all markdown formatting from the content below. Remove all markdown symbols (**, *, #, `, >, ~~, -, etc.) and return only plain text.
</instructions>
<content>
[Your content]
</content>
Quick Reference
| Task | Format |
|---|---|
| Distinguish instructions from content | Use <instructions> and <content> tags |
| Make text bold | **text** |
| Make text italic | *text* |
| Create a heading | # Heading |
| Create a list | - item or 1. item |
| Remove all markdown | Use the removal template above |
Disclaimer: This blog post reflects my personal views only. AI tools may have been used for brevity, structure, or research support. Please independently verify any information before relying on it. This content does not represent the views of my employer, Infotech.com.
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