Reasoning Ability: Puzzles, Syllogisms and Logical Deduction
What the section tests
Reasoning Ability in the LIC HFL Assistant/Associate exam tests structured deduction: seating arrangement, puzzles, syllogism, inequality, blood relations, direction sense, coding-decoding, alphanumeric series and data sufficiency. Most marks come from set-based puzzles and from formal logic questions where one careless reading changes the answer.
Core rules to apply
- Syllogism: use standard conversion rules. All A are B converts to Some B are A. Some A are B converts to Some B are A. No A is B converts to No B is A. A conclusion follows only if it is true in every possible diagram.
- Inequality: decode symbols first, then combine only chains with the same direction. A > B > C gives A > C; A > B < C gives no fixed relation between A and C.
- Seating: fix the direction first, then mark left/right carefully. In circular arrangements, facing inward reverses left and right from the reader's view.
- Blood relations: draw a family tree and mark gender only when the question states it; do not infer gender from a name or role.
Worked example
Statements: All loans are credits. Some credits are deposits. Conclusions: I. Some loans are deposits. II. Some deposits are credits. Reasoning: Statement 2, Some credits are deposits, converts to Some deposits are credits, so conclusion II follows. Conclusion I is not guaranteed: the credits that are deposits may be outside the loans set. Therefore only II follows.
Traps that cost marks
Do not treat a possibility as a certainty in syllogism. Do not combine inequality statements that point in opposite directions. In puzzles, do not assume a person faces north unless stated. In blood relations, avoid adding unstated family members.
Key points
- In syllogism, test conclusions against every possible diagram.
- Some A are B always converts to Some B are A.
- Combine inequality chains only when the direction is consistent.
- Fix facing direction before applying left/right in seating puzzles.
- In blood relations, mark gender only when stated.