Demystifying Long Chain-of-Thought Reasoning in LLMs
Authors: name: Edward Yeo; name: Yuxuan Tong; name: Morry Niu; name: Graham Neubig; name: Xiang Yue
Published: 2025-02-05 17:13:32

Abstract: Scaling inference compute enhances reasoning in large language models (LLMs),
with long chains-of-thought (CoTs) enabling strategies like backtracking and
error correction. Reinforcement learning (RL) has emerged as a crucial method
for developing these capabilities, yet the conditions under which long CoTs
emerge remain unclear, and RL training requires careful design choices. In this
study, we systematically investigate the mechanics of long CoT reasoning,
identifying the key factors that enable models to generate long CoT
trajectories. Through extensive supervised fine-tuning (SFT) and RL
experiments, we present four main findings: (1) While SFT is not strictly
necessary, it simplifies training and improves efficiency; (2) Reasoning
capabilities tend to emerge with increased training compute, but their
development is not guaranteed, making reward shaping crucial for stabilizing
CoT length growth; (3) Scaling verifiable reward signals is critical for RL. We
find that leveraging noisy, web-extracted solutions with filtering mechanisms
shows strong potential, particularly for out-of-distribution (OOD) tasks such
as STEM reasoning; and (4) Core abilities like error correction are inherently
present in base models, but incentivizing these skills effectively for complex
tasks via RL demands significant compute, and measuring their emergence
requires a nuanced approach. These insights provide practical guidance for
optimizing training strategies to enhance long CoT reasoning in LLMs. Our code
is available at: https://github.com/eddycmu/demystify-long-cot.