🧠 Chain of Thought (CoT)
Ask the model to "think aloud," showing each step of its reasoning. Revolutionary for logic and math.
What Is Chain of Thought?
"Chain of thought" - explicit reasoning
Instead of asking only for the final answer, you ask the model explain your reasoning step by step. This dramatically improves results on problems that require logic.
🔮 The Magic Phrase
Add this to the end of any prompt to activate CoT
Without CoT vs. With CoT
❌ No CoT
"If João has 3 apples and gets twice that many, then gives half to Maria, how many apples does João have?"
→ The model may get it wrong: "3 apples"
Jumped straight to the answer without calculating
✅ With CoT
"[same question]" Think step by step."
→ "1. João starts with 3 apples"
→ "2. Doubles it: 3 × 2 = 6"
→ "3. Gives half: 6 ÷ 2 = 3"
→ "João has 3 apples"
When to Use CoT
🧮 Math Problems
Calculations, Word Problems, Statistics
🧩 Logic and Puzzles
Deduction, sequences, patterns
⚖️ Complex Decisions
Analysis of pros and cons, comparisons
🔍 Debugging
Find errors in code or logic
CoT Variations
Zero-Shot CoT
"Think step by step" - no examples
Few-Shot CoT
Reasoning examples + your question
Tree of Thought
Explore multiple reasoning paths
🚀 Next: Role Prompting
Learn how to give the model roles to adjust its tone and expertise!
Go to Role Prompting