diff --git a/reasoning_gym/arithmetic/basic_arithmetic.py b/reasoning_gym/arithmetic/basic_arithmetic.py
index eed3bb98..e8a1cb94 100644
--- a/reasoning_gym/arithmetic/basic_arithmetic.py
+++ b/reasoning_gym/arithmetic/basic_arithmetic.py
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ class BasicArithmeticDataset(ProceduralDataset):
     def __init__(self, config: BasicArithmeticDatasetConfig):
         super().__init__(config=config, seed=config.seed, size=config.size)
         self.added_instruction = (
-            "Ensure to report the answer as an integer. Please do not add commas to the integer answers reported."
+            " Ensure to report the answer as an integer. Do not add commas to the integer answers reported."
         )
 
     def __getitem__(self, idx: int) -> dict[str, Any]:
@@ -226,15 +226,14 @@ class BasicArithmeticDataset(ProceduralDataset):
         return expression, result
 
     def _format_question(self, rng: Random, expression: str) -> str:
-        """Format the expression with clear answer positioning"""
-        # answer_instruction = "Put your final answer after '=' without additional text."
+        """Format the the question with the arithmetic expression"""
 
         if self.config.format_style == "simple":
-            return f"Calculate {expression}. "
+            return f"Calculate {expression}."
         else:
-            templates = ["What is {0}. ", "Solve {0}. ", "Compute {0}. ", "Evaluate: {0}. "]
-            template = rng.choice(templates).format(expression)
-            return f"{template}"
+            templates = ["What is {0}?", "Solve {0}.", "Compute {0}.", "Evaluate: {0}."]
+            template = rng.choice(templates)
+            return template.format(expression)
 
 
 # Register the dataset
diff --git a/tests/test_basic_arithmetic.py b/tests/test_basic_arithmetic.py
index 757d3c2f..c1035af9 100644
--- a/tests/test_basic_arithmetic.py
+++ b/tests/test_basic_arithmetic.py
@@ -1,5 +1,3 @@
-from random import Random
-
 import pytest
 
 from reasoning_gym.arithmetic.basic_arithmetic import (
@@ -66,6 +64,18 @@ def test_arithmetic_dataset_format_styles():
     dataset = BasicArithmeticDataset(config)
     assert all(item["question"].strip().endswith(".") for item in dataset)
 
+    config = BasicArithmeticDatasetConfig(
+        size=10,
+        seed=42,
+        format_style="natural",
+        min_terms=2,
+        max_terms=3,  # Keep expressions simple for testing
+        min_digits=1,
+        max_digits=2,
+    )
+    dataset = BasicArithmeticDataset(config)
+    assert all(item["question"].strip().endswith(".") for item in dataset)
+
 
 def test_arithmetic_dataset_iteration():
     """Test that iteration respects dataset size"""