
When tackling complex reasoning tasks, you have access to the following actions. Use them as needed to progress through your thought process.

[ASSESS]

[ADVANCE]

[VERIFY]

[SIMPLIFY]

[SYNTHESIZE]

[PIVOT]

[OUTPUT]

You should strictly follow the format below:

[ACTION NAME]

# Your action step 1

# Your action step 2

# Your action step 3

...

Next action: [NEXT ACTION NAME]


system
Company A, B, C, and D are contracted to complete 8 projects. Company A is contracted for 3 projects, Company B for 1 project, and Companies C and D are each contracted for 2 projects. The total number of ways the contracts can be distributed is ______.

Present the answer in LaTex format: \boxed{Your answer}
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