Which placement of a critical instruction minimises the risk of it being ignored due to the lost-in-the-middle attention phenomenon?
Answer: At both the beginning of the system prompt and immediately before the final user turn
The U-shaped attention curve means positions 0 and the final position receive strongest signal. Placing critical instructions at the start of the system prompt AND immediately before the final user turn exploits both high-attention zones. Middle placement (A) maximises degradation risk. Tool result injection (D) is lower priority than direct prompt content.