thesis on tense

Mastering the Use of Tenses in Your Research Paper 

Many students and early career researchers find themselves grappling with various aspects of academic writing. One critical aspect is ensuring correct grammar, most importantly the appropriate use of tenses in your research paper. In this article, we explain the basics of using tenses in scientific writing and list best practices for different sections of your academic manuscript. By understanding the role of tenses in your research paper and applying them accurately, you can enhance the clarity and credibility of our research work. 

Table of Contents

• Understanding the basics: Using tenses in research papers 
• The simple past tense: Literature review, methods 
• The past perfect tense: Methods, conclusion 
• The simple present tense: Introduction, results, tables and figures  
• The present perfect tense: Introduction, literature review 
• The future tense: Discussion, conclusions 
• How Paperpal can help you ensure correct usage of verb tenses in academic writing?  

Understanding the basics: Using tenses in research papers

Tenses in scientific writing serve as valuable tools to indicate the time frame in which certain actions or ideas take place. The simple past tense and simple present tense are the most used tenses in research papers. They are supplemented by the present perfect, past perfect, and occasionally the future tense. Consistency and precision are crucial in academic writing, so let’s into the basics of tenses in your research paper and discuss the recommended tenses for each section.

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The simple past tense: Literature review, methods

Use this tense in your research paper when talking of or describing specific actions or events that occurred in the past; they should not be linked to the present in the same sentence. The simple past tense is used predominantly in the literature review to talk about existing research on the topic, for example, “Watson and Crick published their landmark paper on the structure of DNA in 1953.” It is also typically used in the methods section to describe the methods used in previous studies; what you did and how you did it. For example, “We selected five samples at random.” This tense in scientific writing can also be used to state facts that were once believed to be true but have since been invalidated, for example, “Bats were thought to be blind.”  

The past perfect tense: Methods, conclusion

Best used to describe two related events that occurred at different times in the past, this tense is typically used in the methods section, especially when describing earlier stages of the experimental procedure. For example, “By the time the temperature and humidity reached optimal levels, the plants had already begun to revive,” or “Respondents who had been grouped into different control groups were given a placebo instead of the new formulation.” Use the past perfect tense in your research paper to describe research or experiments that may have already been completed at the time of writing the manuscript and in the conclusion to summarize the research findings.  

The simple present tense: Introduction, results, tables and figures

A researcher or academic writer can use simple present tense in the introduction when stating the objectives of the study, to interpret the results, discuss the significance of the findings or to present conclusions. Use the simple present tense in your research papers when referring to results presented in tables and figures in your writing. For example, “Fig.3 shows that…”. The present tense an also be used to talk about the research paper as a whole, for example, “Section 4.1 discusses…”. 

This tense in scientific writing is also used to state what is generally true and what is unlikely to change. For example, “The Earth revolves around the sun” or “Human babies generally start speaking when they are 2 years old.” This tense works well in the results section , which indicates what one believes to be true and relevant to the present research. For example, “Robinson maintains that soaking seeds in strong acid helps in breaking seed dormancy.”  

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The present perfect tense: Introduction, literature review

The present perfect tense in scientific writing is used to talk about a past event that is linked to the present or to talk about trends or events that have occurred recently. One may need to use this tense in the introduction while providing a background to the study. For example, “The demand for more sophisticated 5G devices has increased significantly over the past few years.” Additionally, the present perfect tense is also used frequently in the literature review sections while referring to previous research that is fairly recent. For example, “Recent experiments on the samples collected have revealed high levels of saline.”  

The future tense: Discussion, conclusions  

Use the future tense in your research paper when describing events that are expected to occur in the future; this is not very common in academic writing. Typically, its use is limited to the discussion section toward the end, when one needs to make recommendations or indicate a future course of action based on the research results. It is usually recommended that parts of the conclusion section be written in the future tense. For example, “These research findings will open up new possibilities for the effective use of Epsom salt in agriculture.”  

Remember that the grammar and tense guidelines provided above are not hard and fast rules, which can make it more confusing, especially for those who do not have English as their first language. Ask peers to proofread your work carefully for incorrect or mixed tenses in a single sentence or paragraph or turn to trusted AI academic writing tools like Paperpal. 

How Paperpal can help you ensure correct usage of verb tenses in academic writing?   

Academic writing demands high-quality standards; it’s essential to adhere to grammar and style conventions. This ensures conformity with institutional and field-specific standards, and clarity in communicating what was studied, when it happened, and from which perspective the research is discussed. To determine the flow and coherency of your paper, using the right verb tenses is essential.  

Here’s how Paperpal, an AI academic writing assistant, can help you maintain consistency in verb tenses so that readers can easily follow the progress of your ideas and arguments: 

• Sign Up or Log In: Start by creating an account or logging into Paperpal . 
• Paste your content: Once logged in, paste your research paper’s content onto the writing document. 
• Get language and grammar suggestions: Click on the Edit icon on the right pane. Paperpal analyzes your text to identify errors, including verb form, tense usage, spellings, punctuations, word choice, and grammar. 
• Fix errors and review: You can accept the relevant suggestions, and reject the irrelevant ones, and correct all the errors in a go.  

Researchers need to familiarize themselves with the correct use of tenses in research papers, but with Paperpal, it gets easier. Paperpal is not just a grammar and language checker. It also provides rewriting, word reduction, and academic tone checks to align your writing with academic conventions. You can even build your writing skills and learn how to avoid such errors in the future with Paperpal’s detailed writing “tips” with simple explanations for editing suggestions.    

Understanding and implementing the appropriate use of tenses in different sections of your research paper is essential for effective communication of your ideas. By mastering the use of tenses in your research paper, you can ensure clarity, consistency, and accuracy and elevate the quality of your academic writing.  

Paperpal is a comprehensive AI writing toolkit that helps students and researchers achieve 2x the writing in half the time. It leverages 21+ years of STM experience and insights from millions of research articles to provide in-depth academic writing, language editing, and submission readiness support to help you write better, faster.  

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How to Use Tenses within Scientific Writing

Written by: Chloe Collier

One’s tense will vary depending on what one is trying to convey within their paper or section of their paper. For example, the tense may change between the methods section and the discussion section.

Abstract --> Past tense

• The abstract is usually in the past tense due to it showing what has already been studied.

Example: “This study was conducted at the Iyarina Field School, and within the indigenous Waorani community within Yasuni National Park region.”

Introduction --> Present tense

• Example: “ Clidemia heterophylla and Piperaceae musteum are both plants with ant domata, meaning that there is an ant mutualism which protects them from a higher level of herbivory.”

Methods --> Past tense

• In the methods section one would use past tense due to what they have done was in the past.
• It has been debated whether one should use active or passive voice. The scientific journal Nature states that one should use active voice as to convey the concepts more directly.
• Example: “In the geographic areas selected for the study, ten random focal plants were selected as points for the study.”

Results --> Past tense

• Example: “We observed that there was no significant statistical difference in herbivory on Piperaceae between the two locations, Yasuni National Park, Ecuador (01° 10’ 11, 13”S and 77° 10’ 01. 47 NW) and Iyarina Field School, Ecuador (01° 02’ 35.2” S and 77° 43’ 02. 45” W), with the one exception being that there was found to be a statistical significance in the number count within a one-meter radius of Piperaceae musteum (Piperaceae).”

Discussion --> Present tense and past tense

• Example: “Symbiotic ant mutualistic relationships within species will defend their host plant since the plant provides them with food. In the case of Melastomataceae, they have swellings at the base of their petioles that house the ants and aid to protect them from herbivores.”
• One would use past tense to summarize one’s results
• Example: “In the future to further this experiment, we would expand this project and expand our sample size in order to have a more solid base for our findings.”

• Português (brasil)

Using the Past Tenses of English Verbs in Theses and Dissertations

Thesis and dissertation students who struggle with writing English prose that effectively presents their research often have difficulties when it comes to conjugating verb tenses. In this post, I therefore provide advice on forming the past tenses of English verbs and provide some examples of correct usage. Please note that the verb forms I am discussing are set in uppercase letters in these examples, but only for clarity – full capitalisation of this kind should not be used in scholarly writing.

The simple past tense is the most commonly used of the English past tenses. ‘I WAS busy,’ ‘you SANG well,’ ‘he RAN daily’ and ‘they SLEPT this afternoon’ all use the simple past, which describes action or events that occurred in the past and are completely finished. When extra emphasis is required, the simple past of the verb ‘to do’ can be used along with the simple present of the main verb for a slightly different construction, as in ‘you DID SING in the choir.’ ‘Did’ is also used as an auxiliary verb when forming a negative statement, in which case the word ‘not’ should be inserted between the auxiliary verb and the main verb, as in ‘we DID not SLEEP in the afternoon.’ A question in the simple past often uses ‘did’ as well, but before the subject instead of after it. ‘DID she SING in the choir?’ is therefore correct. The verb ‘to be’ behaves a little differently, with the word ‘not’ added after the verb to make the meaning negative – ‘you WERE ill’ thus becomes ‘you WERE not ill’ – and the verb simply changes places with the subject in a question: ‘WERE you ill?’

The past continuous tense is formed by using the simple past tense of the auxiliary verb ‘to be’ and the present participle of the main verb. ‘She WAS DOING well,’ ‘you WERE SHOPPING when I left’ and ‘they WERE READING at the library’ are good examples. The word ‘not’ should be inserted between the auxiliary verb and the present participle for negative statements, as in ‘we WERE not READING at all.’ In a question, the auxiliary verb should appear before the subject, as it does in ‘WAS she WRITING when you arrived?’ The past continuous is used to express what was in the process of happening or being done at some particular time in the past. It can be used in combination with the simple past, in which case the past continuous expresses a long or ongoing action in the past, whereas the simple past expresses a short action that happened while the longer action was occurring. ‘You WERE SHOPPING when I left’ demonstrates this, as does ‘WERE they READING when it happened?’

The past perfect tense uses the auxiliary verb ‘to have’ in the simple past along with the past participle of the main verb. Examples include ‘they HAD VACATED the building that afternoon,’ ‘he HAD RUN through the park before the festival’ and ‘you HAD BEEN ill.’ The word ‘not’ is inserted between the auxiliary verb and the main verb for a negative meaning, as in ‘we HAD not WRITTEN the paper that afternoon.’ Questions are formed by exchanging the positions of the subject and the auxiliary verb: ‘HAD he SUNG for an audience before?’ The past perfect tense is often used to express an action or event in the past that occurred before another action or event in the past, as is the case in ‘we arrived just after the ship HAD SAILED.’

The past perfect continuous tense is the most complicated of the past tenses. It uses two auxiliary verbs as well as the main verb: the auxiliary verb ‘to have’ appears in the simple past, while the auxiliary verb ‘to be’ appears as a past participle and the main verb appears as a present participle. ‘They HAD BEEN READING that morning,’ ‘he HAD BEEN SINGING in the choir for months’ and ‘we HAD BEEN SHOPPING every day’ are correct examples. ‘Not’ should be inserted after the first auxiliary verb when the meaning is negative – ‘I HAD not BEEN READING that morning’ – and the subject should exchange places with the first auxiliary verb when an interrogative statement is intended: ‘HAD you BEEN SINGING for long?’ Similar to the past perfect tense, the past perfect continuous describes a longer action in the past that occurs before another action that is also in the past, as is the case in ‘they HAD BEEN READING every day before they lost the book.’

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