Step-by-Step Problem Solving (Chain-of-Thought) › What Is Chain-of-Thought Reasoning?

Chain-of-thought (CoT) reasoning is simple: instead of asking the model to jump straight to an answer, you prompt it to explain its thinking step by step. You're essentially asking it to "show its work," just like a math teacher would require.

When you use chain-of-thought prompting, the model generates intermediate reasoning steps before arriving at a final answer. These steps serve two purposes:

1. They improve accuracy: By working through the problem explicitly, the model is less likely to make logical errors or skip important considerations.

2. They provide transparency: You can see how the model arrived at its answer, which helps you trust the result and debug when something goes wrong.

Think of it like the difference between asking someone "What's $17 \times 23$?" versus "What's $17 \times 23$? Show me how you calculated it." The second request produces an answer and a process you can verify.