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Main Authors: Zhang, Yulong, Wang, Li, Du, Wei, Li, Peilin, Zhao, Yuqin Dai Zhiyuan, Fang, Lingyong, Liu, Ziniu, Zhang, Ru, Zhu, Huijia, Liu, Gongshen
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.02816
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author Zhang, Yulong
Wang, Li
Du, Wei
Li, Peilin
Zhao, Yuqin Dai Zhiyuan
Fang, Lingyong
Liu, Ziniu
Zhang, Ru
Zhu, Huijia
Liu, Gongshen
author_facet Zhang, Yulong
Wang, Li
Du, Wei
Li, Peilin
Zhao, Yuqin Dai Zhiyuan
Fang, Lingyong
Liu, Ziniu
Zhang, Ru
Zhu, Huijia
Liu, Gongshen
contents Verifying multi-step reasoning in large language models is difficult due to imprecise error localization and high token costs. Existing methods either assess entire reasoning chains, suffering attention dilution, or rely on expensive multi-sampling. We introduce Node-wise Consistency Verification (NCV), a training-free framework that recasts verification as lightweight binary consistency checks at the node level. By decomposing the chain of thought into interconnected verification nodes, NCV precisely localizes errors and avoids unnecessary long-form generation. Experiments demonstrate that our approach enhances interpretability and efficiency, presenting a scalable solution for reliable LLM reasoning verification. On public datasets, NCV achieves a 10\% to 25\% improvement in F1 scores over baselines while utilizing $6\times$~$58\times$ fewer tokens than traditional methods like CoT-based verifiers.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2510_02816
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle NCV: A Node-Wise Consistency Verification Approach for Low-Cost Structured Error Localization in LLM Reasoning
Zhang, Yulong
Wang, Li
Du, Wei
Li, Peilin
Zhao, Yuqin Dai Zhiyuan
Fang, Lingyong
Liu, Ziniu
Zhang, Ru
Zhu, Huijia
Liu, Gongshen
Artificial Intelligence
Computation and Language
Verifying multi-step reasoning in large language models is difficult due to imprecise error localization and high token costs. Existing methods either assess entire reasoning chains, suffering attention dilution, or rely on expensive multi-sampling. We introduce Node-wise Consistency Verification (NCV), a training-free framework that recasts verification as lightweight binary consistency checks at the node level. By decomposing the chain of thought into interconnected verification nodes, NCV precisely localizes errors and avoids unnecessary long-form generation. Experiments demonstrate that our approach enhances interpretability and efficiency, presenting a scalable solution for reliable LLM reasoning verification. On public datasets, NCV achieves a 10\% to 25\% improvement in F1 scores over baselines while utilizing $6\times$~$58\times$ fewer tokens than traditional methods like CoT-based verifiers.
title NCV: A Node-Wise Consistency Verification Approach for Low-Cost Structured Error Localization in LLM Reasoning
topic Artificial Intelligence
Computation and Language
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.02816