In this guide
Reasoning is the one section that decides your fate at both stages of LIC AAO. In the prelims, English is only qualifying, so shortlisting rests on Reasoning and Quant together, 35 marks each. In the mains, Reasoning Ability carries 90 of the 300 marks that go into the final merit list, at three marks a question. A candidate who is steady on puzzles and seating has a large advantage, because those are the sets most candidates fear and skip.
Why reasoning rewards practice
Reasoning questions do not depend on memory. Once you know the method for a question type, the same method works every time. Two things change with practice: how fast you spot the first clue, and how rarely you misread a phrase such as "immediately to the left". That is why a structured plan gives better returns here than in the awareness sections, where new facts keep arriving.
The flip side: reasoning skill fades quickly without practice. Four weeks off and your puzzle speed drops. Plan for a little reasoning every day rather than a long burst once a week.
What to prioritise
| Priority | Prelims (35 questions, 20 minutes) | Mains (30 questions, 40 minutes) |
|---|---|---|
| Highest | Puzzles and seating arrangements | Longer puzzles and seating with two or three variables |
| High | Inequality, syllogism | Input–output, data sufficiency, coded inequality |
| Medium | Coding, blood relations, direction, order and ranking, alphanumeric series | Critical reasoning (assumptions, inferences, courses of action) |
The exact mix changes between papers, and mocks from different providers disagree. Treat this table as a guide to where your practice hours go, not as a forecast of the paper.
A six-week order
The order moves from quick, rule-based topics to long puzzles. The early weeks give you fast marks and confidence. The later weeks build the skill that separates a cleared prelims from a strong mains.
| Week | Topics | Target by the end of the week |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Inequality, syllogism, direction sense | 10 inequality questions in 5 minutes with no errors |
| 2 | Coding–decoding, blood relations, order and ranking, alphanumeric series | Sentence coding sets in under 2 minutes |
| 3 | Floor, box and scheduling puzzles | A six-person puzzle in under 5 minutes |
| 4 | Linear and circular seating | Circular seating with mixed facing directions |
| 5 | Mains-level puzzles; input–output | One two-variable puzzle in 7 minutes |
| 6 | Data sufficiency, critical reasoning; mixed sectionals | Two full sectionals, prelims and mains timing |
After week 6, keep the topics warm: two puzzles and one quick set daily until the exam.
Daily practice, about an hour
- Two puzzles or seating sets, timed. Write down the time each took.
- Fifteen quick questions from inequality, syllogism, coding, blood relations and direction.
- Ten minutes of review. For every set that took too long, ask: which clue should I have placed first? Write the answer in one line.
The review is the part most candidates skip, and it is the part that makes the next puzzle faster.
Choosing questions in the exam
Prelims, 20 minutes. Start with quick sets: inequality, syllogism, coding, direction. They take 20–40 seconds each. Then do the puzzle or seating set that has the most definite clues ("A sits at an extreme end", "B lives on the third floor"). Leave the puzzle that opens with only relative clues for last.
Mains, 40 minutes. Spend the first minute scanning. Do the quick questions first, then puzzles in order of how definite their first clue is. If a puzzle has not settled into one arrangement after about five minutes, mark it and move on.
With three marks a question in the mains, a five-question puzzle is worth 15 marks. That is worth time, but only if you can finish it. A half-solved puzzle scores nothing.
Common mistakes
- Avoiding puzzles in practice. They are the largest block of marks. Skipping them in practice means skipping them in the exam.
- Using real-world knowledge in syllogism. Only the statements count.
- Inferring gender from names in blood relations. Only relation words (son, sister, husband) fix gender.
- Counting "three people between" as three seats apart. It means four seats apart.
- Staying too long on one set. A time limit per set protects the rest of the section.
- Not reviewing mocks. The same error type repeats until you name it.
A ten-minute diagnostic
Answer these before you start the six-week plan. Any wrong answer tells you where to begin.
- Inequality. A > B ≥ C = D. Which follows: I. A > D, II. B > D?
- Syllogism. All claims are forms. No form is a receipt. Which follows: I. No claim is a receipt, II. Some receipts are claims?
- Coding. If RATE is coded as SBUF, how is FUND coded?
- Direction. Walk 6 m north, turn right and walk 8 m. How far and in which direction are you from the start?
- Blood relations. A man says of a woman, "Her father is my father's only son." How is the woman related to the man?
- Ranking. In a row of 30 students, one student is 12th from the left. What is that student's position from the right?
Answers
- Only I. A > B ≥ C = D gives A > D. B ≥ D allows B = D, so II is not certain.
- Only I. Every claim is a form and no form is a receipt, so no claim is a receipt. II contradicts I.
- GVOE. Each letter moves one step forward.
- 10 m, north-east. The position is 8 m east and 6 m north; √(64 + 36) = 10.
- Daughter. The man's father's only son is the man himself, so he is her father.
- 19th. 30 − 12 + 1.
What to do next
- Take the diagnostic, then start week 1 with your weakest quick topic.
- Learn the method for the biggest block first: puzzles and seating arrangements.
- From week 5, work through mains-level reasoning with the 40-minute timer.
- Keep a one-page error log and read it before every mock.
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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