In this guide
The mains Reasoning section is where LIC AAO selections are made. It carries 90 of the 300 marks that go into the final merit list, the same as Data Analysis, and more than either awareness section. Each question is worth three marks, so a single five-question puzzle is worth 15 marks. That changes how you should spend your 40 minutes: fewer, bigger decisions, and much less room for a half-solved set.
What the numbers mean
- The pass mark is 15 correct answers. 45 out of 90 is half the section, so the floor is not the problem.
- The cut-off is. The 2025 UR mains cut-off was 232 out of 300, about 77 per cent across the four sections. A candidate who is weaker in the awareness sections needs Reasoning well above that.
- Each question is 80 seconds on average. That is 40 minutes for 30 questions, but a long puzzle will take four to seven minutes for its five questions, and quick questions take far less.
- With no negative marking, never leave a blank. In the 2025 pattern, a guess costs nothing. Keep the last 30 seconds to fill every unanswered question. Check this rule in your notification first.
What changes from the prelims
| Feature | Prelims (35 questions, 20 minutes) | Mains (30 questions, 40 minutes) |
|---|---|---|
| Marks per question | 1 | 3 |
| Puzzles | Usually one variable (who sits where) | Often two or three variables (where, which city, which product) |
| Question types | Many quick sets | Fewer quick sets; input–output, data sufficiency and critical reasoning more likely |
| Case splits | Rare | Common: two or three cases survive until a late clue |
| What wins | Speed | Accuracy on long sets |
The exact mix changes from paper to paper. Mocks from different providers disagree, so prepare every type rather than predicting the paper.
A 40-minute plan
| Minutes | Work |
|---|---|
| 0–1 | Scan the whole section. Note each set's type and how definite its first clue is |
| 1–9 | Quick questions: inequality, syllogism, coding, blood relations, direction |
| 9–33 | Two or three puzzles or seating sets, the most definite first |
| 33–39 | Input–output, data sufficiency or critical reasoning, whichever is quickest for you |
| 39–40 | Fill every blank, if the paper has no negative marking |
Treat this as a starting point and adjust it after your mocks. If quick questions are weak for you, they will take longer. If puzzles are your strength, give them more time.
A mains-level puzzle, solved
Six people, A, B, C, D, E and F, each have one meeting on a different day from Monday to Saturday. Each handles a different subject: Audit, Claims, Legal, Pension, Sales or Tax.
- Only one person's meeting falls between B's meeting and the Pension meeting, and the Pension meeting is earlier than B's.
- A's meeting is on the day immediately after the Audit meeting.
- D handles Sales, and D's meeting is not on Monday or Saturday.
- Two meetings are held between the Sales meeting and the Tax meeting.
- E's meeting is on Monday, and it is the Legal meeting.
- C's meeting is earlier than both F's and D's.
- The Claims meeting is on Saturday.
Step 1: definite clues. Clue 5 fixes Monday: E, Legal. Clue 7 fixes Saturday: Claims.
Step 2: the Sales–Tax pair. D (Sales) is on Tuesday to Friday. Clue 4 puts Tax three days away from Sales.
- D on Tuesday → Tax on Friday.
- D on Wednesday → Tax on Saturday, which is Claims. Not possible.
- D on Thursday → Tax on Monday, which is Legal. Not possible.
- D on Friday → Tax on Tuesday.
Two cases survive.
Step 3: eliminate a case. Clue 6 says C's meeting is earlier than D's. If D is on Tuesday, C must be on Monday, but Monday is E's. So D is on Friday, and Tax is on Tuesday.
Step 4: the Pension clue. Tuesday to Thursday and Saturday are left for A, B, C and F. The subjects left are Audit, Pension, Tax (Tuesday) and Claims (Saturday), so Pension and Audit take Wednesday and Thursday. By clue 1, B's meeting is two days after Pension.
- Pension on Wednesday → B on Friday, but Friday is D's. Not possible.
- Pension on Thursday → B on Saturday. So Pension is Thursday, Audit is Wednesday, and B handles Claims on Saturday.
Step 5: the rest. Clue 2 puts A on the day after Audit: Thursday, Pension. C and F take Tuesday and Wednesday, and clue 6 puts C first.
| Day | Person | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | E | Legal |
| Tuesday | C | Tax |
| Wednesday | F | Audit |
| Thursday | A | Pension |
| Friday | D | Sales |
| Saturday | B | Claims |
Check every clue before answering. Clue 1: Pension on Thursday, B on Saturday, and one meeting (Friday) between them. Clue 4: Sales on Friday and Tax on Tuesday, with Wednesday and Thursday between. All seven hold.
Questions
- Who handles Audit? F.
- How many meetings are held between C's and B's? Wednesday, Thursday and Friday: three.
- Whose meeting is immediately before D's? A's.
- Which subject does C handle? Tax.
Handling longer puzzles
- One grid for all variables. Put days or floors down the side and a column for each variable. A clue about one variable often settles another.
- Tick clues as you use them. With seven to ten clues, it is easy to forget one, and the forgotten clue is usually the one that kills the second case.
- Write negative information. "D not Monday or Saturday" belongs in the grid, not in your memory.
- The five-minute rule. If a puzzle has not narrowed to one or two cases after about five minutes, mark it and move on. Come back only if time remains.
A practice schedule
| Period | Daily work | Weekly work |
|---|---|---|
| From about 10 weeks out | One mains-level puzzle, timed | One input–output set and one DS set |
| Last 8 weeks | Two mains-level puzzles, timed | One full 40-minute reasoning sectional |
| Last 3 weeks | Two puzzles plus 10 quick questions | Two full mains mocks, with a written review |
The review matters more than the count. For every puzzle that took more than six minutes, write down the clue you should have used first.
Common mistakes
- Starting with the longest puzzle because it comes first on the screen.
- Answering from a half-solved grid. At three marks a question, a wrong set costs heavily in time, and returns nothing.
- Dropping a case too early because it "looks wrong". Only a clue can eliminate a case.
- Skipping input–output and DS in practice, then meeting them for the first time in the exam.
What to do next
- Solve the puzzle above again tomorrow without looking, and time yourself.
- Learn the step-by-step method for input–output and data sufficiency in reasoning.
- Revise the core puzzle method, then take one full 40-minute sectional this week.
A note on dates and numbers. Exam patterns, vacancies and schedules change from year to year. Always confirm the current details in the latest notification on the Life Insurance Corporation of India website .
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