CCDV-F Agents and the Agent SDK Practice Question
A developer is designing an agent with the Anthropic SDK that must follow strict brand guidelines when drafting customer emails. The agent should never deviate from these rules regardless of how the user phrases a request. Where should the brand guidelines be placed to have the strongest effect?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is treating the first user message as a lasting instruction, when user turns are requests that later turns and the model's own reasoning can override.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
In the system prompt, so they act as persistent instructions across the entire conversation.
The system prompt is the correct place for durable rules that must apply to every response, such as brand guidelines. It carries more weight than user turns and persists across the conversation, making it the strongest lever for preventing deviations regardless of how a request is phrased.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
In the assistant's previous reply, so the model imitates its own earlier tone.
Why it's wrong here
Prior assistant messages show what the model said, not what it must always do. Relying on imitation is fragile because a single off-brand reply becomes a bad example that the model may reproduce. Explicit rules in the system prompt are far more reliable than inferring constraints from past outputs.
- ✗
In the first user message, so the model sees them before any other request.
Why it's wrong here
User messages are treated as requests the model should satisfy, not as governing rules. Instructions placed in a user turn compete with subsequent user turns and can be overridden or diluted as the conversation grows. Brand constraints need the persistent authority that only the system prompt provides.
- ✗
In a tool description, so the model reads them whenever it considers using a tool.
Why it's wrong here
Tool descriptions explain what a tool does and when to use it; they are not a general policy channel. Brand guidelines placed there would only be visible in the context of that tool and would not govern text-only responses. This placement also risks confusing the model about the tool's actual purpose.
- ✓
In the system prompt, so they act as persistent instructions across the entire conversation.
Why this is correct
The system prompt sets durable behavioral instructions that apply to every turn and carry more authority than user messages. Placing brand guidelines there ensures the agent treats them as non-negotiable constraints rather than suggestions that can be overridden by later user input.
About these practice questions
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Anthropic exam blueprint
This CCDV-F practice question is part of Courseiva's free Anthropic certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the CCDV-F exam.