Is Large Language Model Performance on Reasoning Tasks Impacted by Different Ways Questions Are Asked?

Large Language Models (LLMs) have been evaluated using diverse question types, e.g., multiple-choice, true/false, and short/long answers.This study answers an unexplored question about the impact of different question types on LLM accuracy on reasoning tasks.We investigate the performance of five LLMs on three different types of questions using quantitative and deductive reasoning tasks.The performance metrics include accuracy in the reasoning steps and choosing the final answer.Key Findings: (1) Significant differences exist in LLM performance across different question types.(2) Reasoning accuracy does not necessarily correlate with the final selection accuracy.(3) The number of options and the choice of words, influence LLM performance.

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Published
2025-01-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.18653/v1/2025.findings-acl.1138
Primary Topic
Topic Modeling
Type
article
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article

Is Large Language Model Performance on Reasoning Tasks Impacted by Different Ways Questions Are Asked?

Mohna Chakraborty, Wallapak Tavanapong, Qi Li, Seok Hwan Song
Topic Modeling
article

Is Large Language Model Performance on Reasoning Tasks Impacted by Different Ways Questions Are Asked?

Mohna Chakraborty, Wallapak Tavanapong, Qi Li, Seok Hwan Song
article en

Abstract

Large Language Models (LLMs) have been evaluated using diverse question types, e.g., multiple-choice, true/false, and short/long answers.This study answers an unexplored question about the impact of different question types on LLM accuracy on reasoning tasks.We investigate the performance of five LLMs on three different types of questions using quantitative and deductive reasoning tasks.The performance metrics include accuracy in the reasoning steps and choosing the final answer.Key Findings: (1) Significant differences exist in LLM performance across different question types.(2) Reasoning accuracy does not necessarily correlate with the final selection accuracy.(3) The number of options and the choice of words, influence LLM performance.

Iowa State University (US)
Openalex Percentile: Top 90%
Topic Modeling
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