past tense in research paper example

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 ...

The different tenses are identified by their associated verb forms. There are three main verb tenses: past , present , and future. In English, each of these tenses can take four main aspects: simple , perfect , continuous (also known as progressive ), and perfect continuous. The perfect aspect is formed using the verb to have, while the ...

Paper section. Recommended tense. Example. Literature review (or whenever discussing other researchers' work) Past. Martin (2020) addressed. Present perfect. Researchers have studied. Method. Description of procedure. Past. Participants took a survey. ... Future research should explore. Learn more.

When citing previous research, use past tense. Whatever a previous researcher said, did or wrote happened in the past. Results relevant only in the past, or to a particular study and not yet generally accepted should also be expressed in past tense: "Smith (2008) reported that adult respondents remembered 30 percent more than children.

A typical research paper follows the IMRaD format, and how frequently a given tense is used varies with the section of the paper: the introduction, for example, uses a mix of the present tense and the past tense whereas the past tense dominates the results section. Here is a brief guide to using the four variants, namely simple past, simple ...

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

The second most commonly used tense in academic writing is the past simple tense. This tense has two main functions in most academic fields. First, it introduces existing research or academic studies. Second, it describes the methods, data, and findings of a completed experiment or research study. Past Simple Tense: Example Here we have an ...

In some other parts of an introduction, the past tense is needed. When referring specifically to the methods used in a previous paper, the past tense is best. For example, it is correct to say "Smith and Anderson sampled 96 swamps and found 156 distinct dragonfly species" or "gene X was first cloned into a shuttle vector in ì ì ï."

tenses are the most frequently used in research papers. I also mention the Present Continuous. cf = compare. Sometimes in square brackets I give an example of another tense in order to highlight the difference between the two tenses. For guidelines on the other tenses: all tenses used in various sections of a paper Grammar Exercises: 19-25

Simple past. The simple past tense is used to talk about actions or events that were completed in the past.. The simple past of regular verbs is formed by adding "-ed" to the end of the infinitive form (e.g., "cook" becomes "cooked"). The past tense of irregular verbs don't follow a particular pattern and can be formed in various ways (e.g., "sing" becomes "sang").

Revised on 11 September 2023. Tense communicates an event's location in time. The different tenses are identified by their associated verb forms. There are three main verb tenses: past , present , and future. In English, each of these tenses can take four main aspects: simple , perfect , continuous (also known as progressive ), and perfect ...

When writing and editing an abstract for a research article, several different verb tenses can be used. Which tense you should use largely depends on the subject of your sentence. As a general rule: Any statements of general fact should be written using the present tense. Prior research should be mentioned and explained using the past tense.

In your scientific paper, use verb tenses (past, present, and future) exactly as you would in ordinary writing. Use the past tense to report what happened in the past: what you did, what someone ...

The examples above are the simple forms of each of these tenses. There are many variations on these, however, so it's worth checking how each form differs in practice. The Past Tense in Academic Writing. In an academic paper, you could use the past tense to show that an idea is not widely accepted any more. In the following, for instance, the ...

Verb tenses in the conclusion section. For the conclusion, you may need to use several tenses. Again, when referring to general truths or implications of your results, use the present simple. When referring to what you did, use the past simple or present perfect tense. Use the simple past when discussing the research you completed and is no ...

_ Accepted findings (Present Perfect) _ Specific paper from past (Past Tense) 5. Usage Example #4. In the example below, we talk about past research papers and that's why we have used the past tense. Example of past tense use. In the initial work presented by Kim et al. (2004), they showed that there is a direct link between Vitamin C and ...

This handout provides the overview of three tenses that are usually found in academic writing. Background. There are three tenses that make up 98% of the tensed verbs used in academic writing. The most common tense is present simple, followed by past simple and present perfect. These tenses can be used both in passive and active voice.

According to corpus research, in academic writing, the three tenses used the most often are the simple present, the simple past, and the present perfect (Biber et al., 1999; Caplan, 2012). The next most common tense for capstone writers is the future; the doctoral study/dissertation proposal at Walden is written in this tense for a study that will be conducted in the future.

What tenses should be used in the research paper and thesis? The most concern part is the literature review. Chapter 1 is the introduction, so combination of present and past tense should be used.

Rules for Present, Past, and Perfect Tense Verbs. First, there are three basic verb tenses used in research papers: present (simple present), simple past, and present perfect. We will talk about how research paper sections determine verb tense in a minute, but first, let's review when each tense should be used in general throughout the paper.

Papers usually end with a concluding section, often called the "Discussion.". The Discussion is your opportunity to evaluate and interpret the results of your study or paper, draw inferences and conclusions from it, and communicate its contributions to science and/or society. Use the present tense when writing the Discussion section.

Step 2: Methods. Next, indicate the research methods that you used to answer your question. This part should be a straightforward description of what you did in one or two sentences. It is usually written in the past simple tense, as it refers to completed actions.