Dissertations & projects: Tenses

  • Research questions
  • The process of reviewing
  • Project management
  • Literature-based projects

On this page:

“You will use a range of tenses depending on what you are writing about . ” Elizabeth M Fisher, Richard C Thompson, and Daniel Holtom,   Enjoy Writing Your Science Thesis Or Dissertation!

Tenses can be tricky to master. Even well respected journals differ in the guidance they give their authors for their use. However, their are some general conventions about what tenses are used in different parts of the report/dissertation. This page gives some advice on standard practice.

What tenses will you use?

dissertation past tense

There are exceptions however, most notably in the literature review where you will use a mixture of past , present and present perfect tenses (don't worry, that is explained below), when discussing the implications of your findings when the present tense is appropriate and in the recommendations where you are likely to use the future tense.

The tenses used as standard practice in each of these sections of your report are given and explained below.

In your abstract

You have some leeway with tense use in your abstract and guidance does vary which can sometimes be confusing. We recommend the following:

Describing the current situation and reason for your study

Mostly use the present tense,  i.e. "This is the current state of affairs and this is why this study is needed."

Occasionally, you may find the need to use something called the present perfect tense when you are describing things that happened in the past but are still relevant. The present perfect tense uses have/has and then the past participle of the verb i.e. Previous research on this topic has focused on... 

Describing the aims of your study

Here you have a choice. It is perfectly acceptable to use either the present or past tense,  i.e. "This study aims to..." or "This study aimed to..." 

Describing your methodology

Use the past tense to describe what you did, i.e. "A qualitative approach was used." "A survey was undertaken to ...". "The blood sample was analysed by..."

Describing your findings

Use the past tense to describe what you found as it is specific to your study, i.e. "The results showed that...", "The analysis indicated that..."

Suggesting the implications of your study

Use the present tense as even though your study took place in the past, your implications remain relevant in the present, i.e. Results revealed x which indicates that..."

Example abstract 

An example abstract with reasoning for the tenses chosen can be found at the bottom of this excellent blog post: 

Using the Present Tense and Past Tense When Writing an Abstract

In your methodology

The methodology is one of the easiest sections when it comes to tenses as you are explaining to your reader what you did. This is therefore almost exclusively written in the past tense.

Blood specimens were frozen at -80 o C.

A survey was designed using the Jisc Surveys tool.

Participants were purposefully selected.

The following search strategy was used to search the literature:

Very occasionally you may use the present tense if you are justifying a decision you have taken (as the justification is still valid, not just at the time you made the decision). For example: 

Purposeful sampling was used to ensure that a range of views were included. This sampling method maximises efficiency and validity as it identifies information-rich cases and ... (Morse & Niehaus, 2009).

In your discussion/conclusion

This will primarily be written in the present tense as you are generally discussing or making conclusions about the relevance of your findings at the present time. So you may write:

The findings of this research suggest that.../are potentially important because.../could open a new avenue for further research...

There will also be times when you use the past tense , especially when referring to part of your own research or previous published research research - but this is usually followed by something in the present tense to indicate the current relevance or the future tense to indicate possible future directions:

Analysis of the survey results found most respondents were not concerned with the processes, just the outcome. This suggests that managers should focus on...

These findings mirrored those of Cheung (2020), who also found that ESL pupils failed to understand some basic yet fundamental instructions. Addressing this will help ensure...

In your introduction

The introduction generally introduces what is in the rest of your document as is therefore describing the present situation and so uses the present tense :

Chapter 3  describes  the research methodology.

Depending on your discipline, your introduction may also review the literature so please also see that section below.

In your literature review

The findings of some literature may only be applicable in the specific circumstances that the research was undertaken and so need grounding to that study. Conversely, the findings of other literature may now be accepted as established knowledge. Also, you may consider the findings of older literature to be still relevant and relatively recent literature be already superseded. The tenses you write in will help to indicate a lot of this to the reader. In other words, you will use a mix of tenses in your review depending on what you are implying.

Findings only applicable in the specific circumstances

Use the past tense . For example: 

In an early study, Sharkey et al. (1991)  found  that isoprene emissions  were doubled  in leaves on sunnier sides of oak and aspen trees. 

Using the past tense indicates that you are not implying that isoprene emissions are always doubled on the sunnier side of the trees, just that is what was found in the Sharkey et al. study.

Findings that are still relevant or now established knowledge

Mostly use the present tense , unless the study is not recent and the authors are the subject of the sentence (which you should use very sparingly in a literature review) when you may need to use a mixture of the past and present. For example:

A narrowing of what 'graduateness' represents damages students’ abilities to thrive as they move through what will almost certainly be complex career pathways (Holmes, 2001).

Holmes (2001) argued strongly that a narrowing of what 'graduateness' represents damages  students’ abilities to thrive as they move through what will almost certainly be complex career pathways

Both of these imply that you think this is still the case (although it is perhaps more strongly implied in the first example). You may also want to use some academic caution too - such as writing 'may damage' rather than the more definite 'damages'.

Presenting your results

As with your methodology, your results section should be written in the past tense . This indicates that you are accepting that the results are specific to your research. Whilst they may have current implications, that part will not be considered until your discussion/conclusions section(s).

Four main themes were identified from the interview data.

There was a significant change in oxygen levels.

Like with the methodology, you will occasionally switch to present tense to write things like "Table 3.4 shows that ..." but generally, stick to the past tense.

In your recommendations

Not everyone will need to include recommendations and some may have them as part of the conclusions chapter. Recommendations are written in a mixture of the present tense and  future tense :

It is recommended that ward layout is adapted, where possible, to provide low-sensory bays for patients with autism. These will still be useable by all patients but...

Useful links

  • Verb tenses in scientific manuscripts From International Science Editing
  • Which Verb Tenses Should I Use in a Research Paper? Blog from WordVice
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How to write a PhD in a hundred steps (or more)

A workingmumscholar's journey through her phd and beyond, changing tenses as you write your dissertation.

The PhD student I am supervising sent the first draft of her methodology chapter yesterday with a series of questions and notes for me and the co-supervisor. One of them was about tense: she is writing everything in the present and future tense, but wondered if this was a mistake. It got me thinking (again) about tense in the PhD thesis , and the process of moving from future to past as the project progresses.

I have written here a little about the gap between the logic of discovery and the logic of display or dissemination in writing. As you are working, everything is either ‘I am doing this’ and ‘I will be doing that eventually’. This is pretty much the tense in which you write your proposal – proposals are forward  looking. So, as you start you research, you will naturally be thinking now, and on to the next steps, and your writing will most likely reflect this in the tenses you choose. This is the logic of discovery . As you move along, you will make decisions, close some doors, open others , and your argument will unfold and form as you do so.

getty_tense-155096784

So what to do now, in the midst of your research and writing – can and should you anticipate being finished and therefore writing everything in the methodology in the past tense, or do you worry about that later? It does seem like more work to write in the voice of discovery while you are still discovering things, and then write again later in the voice of dissemination as you reorganise and display your thinking with the benefit of (some) hindsight. However, I would caution against trying to anticipate too much . A significant part of doing a PhD is the process of doing a piece of research, and learning through missteps, successes and issues like the one discussed here how doing and writing about research feels and looks and sounds. That way, you can go on to do further research, either on your own or with others post-PhD, and you can eventually supervise PhD students yourself.

methodology-blog-asiaslagwool-com

So my advice, if you are stuck in a similar spot to my PhD student is this: be where you are . Think and write your way through this patch, and write in whatever tense and voice feels most authentic to you at this point. The good news is that there will be time for rewriting, polishing and updating before you submit, and it’s quite a pleasant feeling to go back to this methodology chapter after the findings have been presented and analysed, and find that you can edit, sharpen and focus that section to create a tight, accurate and interesting narrative about the nuts and bolts of your PhD. As you do so, every time you do so, your researcher capacity and voice and ability to add to the conversation through the knowledge you are making grows, and that is what being an academic researcher is about.

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Writing Center Home Page

OASIS: Writing Center

Grammar: verb tenses, most common verb tenses in academic writing.

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.

Biber, D., Johansson, S., Leech, G., Conrad, S., & Finegan, E. (1999). Longman grammar of written and spoken English . Pearson. https://doi.org/10.1162/089120101300346831

Caplan, N. A. (2012). Grammar choices for graduate and professional writers . University of Michigan Press.

Simple present: Use the simple present to describe a general truth or a habitual action. This tense indicates that the statement is generally true in the past, present, and future.

  • Example: The hospital admits patients whether or not they have proof of insurance.

Simple past : Use the simple past tense to describe a completed action that took place at a specific point in the past (e.g., last year, 1 hour ago, last Sunday). In the example below, the specific point of time in the past is 1998.

  • Example: Zimbardo (1998) researched many aspects of social psychology.

Present perfect: Use the present perfect to indicate an action that occurred at a nonspecific time in the past. This action has relevance in the present. The present perfect is also sometimes used to introduce background information in a paragraph. After the first sentence, the tense shifts to the simple past.

  • Example: Numerous researchers have used this method.
  • Example: Many researchers have studied how small business owners can be successful beyond the initial few years in business. They found common themes among the small business owners.

Future: Use the future to describe an action that will take place at a particular point in the future (at Walden, this is used especially when writing a proposal for a doctoral capstone study).

  • Example: I will conduct semistructured interviews.

Keep in mind that verb tenses should be adjusted after the proposal after the research has been completed. See this blog post about Revising the Proposal for the Final Capstone Document for more information.

APA Style Guidelines on Verb Tense

APA calls for consistency and accuracy in verb tense usage (see APA 7, Section 4.12 and Table 4.1). In other words, avoid unnecessary shifts in verb tense within a paragraph or in adjacent paragraphs to help ensure smooth expression.

  • Use the past tense (e.g., researchers presented ) or the present perfect (e.g., researchers have presented ) for the literature review and the description of the procedure if discussing past events.
  • Use the past tense to describe the results (e.g., test scores improved significantly).
  • Use the present tense to discuss implications of the results and present conclusions (e.g., the results of the study show …).

When explaining what an author or researcher wrote or did, use the past tense.

  • Patterson (2012) presented, found, stated, discovered…

However, there can be a shift to the present tense if the research findings still hold true:

  • King (2010) found  that revising a document three times improves the final grade.
  • Smith (2016) discovered that the treatment is effective.

Verb Tense Guidelines When Referring to the Document Itself

To preview what is coming in the document or to explain what is happening at that moment in the document, use the present or future tense:

  • In this study, I will describe …
  • In this study, I describe …
  • In the next chapter, I will discuss …
  • In the next chapter, I discuss …

To refer back to information already covered, such as summaries of discussions that have already taken place or conclusions to chapters/sections, use the past tense:

  • Chapter 1 contained my original discussion of the research questions.
  • In summary, in this section, I presented information on…

Simple Past Versus the Present Perfect

Rules for the use of the present perfect differ slightly in British and American English. Researchers have also found that among American English writers, sometimes individual preferences dictate whether the simple past or the present perfect is used. In other words, one American English writer may choose the simple past in a place where another American English writer may choose the present perfect.

Keep in mind, however, that the simple past is used for a completed action.  It often is used with signal words or phrases such as "yesterday," "last week," "1 year ago," or "in 2015" to indicate the specific time in the past when the action took place.

  • I went to China in 2010 .
  • He completed the employee performance reviews last month .

The present perfect focuses more on an action that occurred without focusing on the specific time it happened. Note that the specific time is not given, just that the action has occurred.

  • I have travelled to China.

The present perfect focuses more on the result of the action.

  • He has completed the employee performance reviews.

The present perfect is often used with signal words such as "since," "already," "just," "until now," "(not) yet," "so far," "ever," "lately," or "recently."

  • I have already travelled to China.
  • He has recently completed the employee performance reviews.
  • Researchers have used this method since it was developed.

Summary of English Verb Tenses

The 12 main tenses:

  • Simple present : She writes every day.
  • Present progressive: She is writing right now.
  • Simple past : She wrote last night.
  • Past progressive: She was writing when he called.
  • Simple future : She will write tomorrow.
  • Future progressive: She will be writing when you arrive.
  • Present perfect : She has written Chapter 1.
  • Present perfect progressive: She has been writing for 2 hours.
  • Past perfect: She had written Chapter 3 before she started Chapter 4.
  • Past perfect progressive: She had been writing for 2 hours before her friends arrived.
  • Future perfect: She will have written Chapter 4 before she writes Chapter 5.
  • Future perfect progressive: She will have been writing for 2 hours by the time her friends come over.

Conditionals:

Zero conditional (general truths/general habits).

  • Example: If I have time, I write every day.

First conditional (possible or likely things in the future).

  • Example: If I have time, I will write every day.

Second conditional (impossible things in the present/unlikely in the future).

  • Example : If I had time, I would write every day.

Third conditional (things that did not happen in the past and their imaginary results)

  • Example : If I had had time, I would have written every day.

Subjunctive : This form is sometimes used in that -clauses that are the object of certain verbs or follow certain adjectives. The form of the subjective is the simple form of the verb. It is the same for all persons and number.

  • Example : I recommend that he study every day.
  • Example: It is important that everyone set a writing schedule.

Verbs Video Playlist

Note that these videos were created while APA 6 was the style guide edition in use. There may be some examples of writing that have not been updated to APA 7 guidelines.

  • Grammar for Academic Writers: Common Verb Tenses in Academic Writing (video transcript)
  • Grammar for Academic Writers: Verb Tense Consistency (video transcript)
  • Grammar for Academic Writers: Advanced Subject–Verb Agreement (video transcript)
  • Mastering the Mechanics: Helping Verbs (video transcript)
  • Mastering the Mechanics: Past Tense (video transcript)
  • Mastering the Mechanics: Present Tense (video transcript)
  • Mastering the Mechanics: Future Tense (video transcript)

Related Resources

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Knowledge Check: Verb Tenses

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dissertation past tense

Using the Past Tenses of English Verbs in Theses and Dissertations

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?’ PhD Thesis Editing Services 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.’ PhD Thesis Editing Services Why Our Editing and Proofreading Services? At Proof-Reading-Service.com we offer the highest quality journal article editing , phd thesis editing and proofreading services via our large and extremely dedicated team of academic and scientific professionals. All of our proofreaders are native speakers of English who have earned their own postgraduate degrees, and their areas of specialisation cover such a wide range of disciplines that we are able to help our international clientele with research editing to improve and perfect all kinds of academic manuscripts for successful publication. Many of the carefully trained members of our expert editing and proofreading team work predominantly on articles intended for publication in scholarly journals, applying painstaking journal editing standards to ensure that the references and formatting used in each paper are in conformity with the journal’s instructions for authors and to correct any grammar, spelling, punctuation or simple typing errors. In this way, we enable our clients to report their research in the clear and accurate ways required to impress acquisitions proofreaders and achieve publication.

Our scientific proofreading services for the authors of a wide variety of scientific journal papers are especially popular, but we also offer manuscript proofreading services and have the experience and expertise to proofread and edit manuscripts in all scholarly disciplines, as well as beyond them. We have team members who specialise in medical proofreading services , and some of our experts dedicate their time exclusively to PhD proofreading and master’s proofreading , offering research students the opportunity to improve their use of formatting and language through the most exacting PhD thesis editing and dissertation proofreading practices. Whether you are preparing a conference paper for presentation, polishing a progress report to share with colleagues, or facing the daunting task of editing and perfecting any kind of scholarly document for publication, a qualified member of our professional team can provide invaluable assistance and give you greater confidence in your written work.

If you are in the process of preparing an article for an academic or scientific journal, or planning one for the near future, you may well be interested in a new book, Guide to Journal Publication , which is available on our Tips and Advice on Publishing Research in Journals website.

Guide to Academic and Scientific Publication

How to get your writing published in scholarly journals.

It provides practical advice on planning, preparing and submitting articles for publication in scholarly journals.

PhD Success

How to write a doctoral thesis.

If you are in the process of preparing a PhD thesis for submission, or planning one for the near future, you may well be interested in the book, How to Write a Doctoral Thesis , which is available on our thesis proofreading website.

PhD Success: How to Write a Doctoral Thesis provides guidance for students familiar with English and the procedures of English universities, but it also acknowledges that many theses in the English language are now written by candidates whose first language is not English, so it carefully explains the scholarly styles, conventions and standards expected of a successful doctoral thesis in the English language.

Why Is Proofreading Important?

To improve the quality of papers.

Effective proofreading is absolutely vital to the production of high-quality scholarly and professional documents. When done carefully, correctly and thoroughly, proofreading can make the difference between writing that communicates successfully with its intended readers and writing that does not. No author creates a perfect text without reviewing, reflecting on and revising what he or she has written, and proofreading is an extremely important part of this process.

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How Can You Decide on Tense Usage in Your Dissertation?

The corpus research suggests that the most often used tenses in academic writing are the simple present, the simple past, and the present perfect. Then, what comes next is the future tense.

dissertation past tense

Which tenses are most common in academic writing?

The corpus research suggests that the most often used tenses in academic writing are the simple present tense, the simple past tense, and the present perfect tense. Then, what comes next is the future tense.

Simple present tense: You can use the simple present to define a general truth or a habitual action. This tense demonstrates that what you state is usually true in the past, present, and future.

Example:  Water generally boils at 100C.

Simple past : You may employ the simple past tense to call a completed action that occurred at a specific point in the past (e.g., last month, one hour ago, last Sunday). The specific point of time is 2019 in the following example.

Example:  The first known COVID outbreak started in Wuhan, Hubei, China, in November 2019.

Present perfect tense: The present perfect indicates an action occurring at a nonspecific time or repeatedly in the past. However, this action has a close connection with the present time. The present perfect tense may introduce background information in a paragraph, reinforcing the main idea mentioned there. Following the first sentence, switching to the simple past is possible.

Example:  Many scientists  have employed  this method.

Example:  Many researchers  have investigated  how a small firm can succeed after its poor start. They gradually learned what is essential in the market.

Future tense:  You may use the future tense to describe an action that will occur at a particular point in the future (It is imperative when writing a research, grant, or dissertation proposal).

Example:  I  will conduct  the ANOVA procedure in my study’s statistical part.

APA guidelines concerning verb tenses

In its last published guideline, APA accentuated the consistency and accuracy in tense verb usage (APA 7, Section 4.12 and Table 4.1). It suggests that you must avoid unnecessary shifts in verb tense within a paragraph or adjacent paragraphs. This avoidance helps secure smooth expression and improves readability. It would be best if you used the past tense (e.g., scientists  posed ) or the present perfect (e.g., researchers  have concluded ) for the literature review . Thus, you must present the procedure description if you discuss past events. Nonetheless, it would help if you resorted to the past tense to describe the results (for example, ANOVA results revealed that the treatment improved food's shelf-life substantially). In discussing the implications of the results and present conclusions, you must use the present tense (i.e., our results suggest that alcohol consumption increases the accident incidence rate). 

When you need to explain what an author or scientist stated or did, you must use the past tense.

Milliken (2012)  reported, revealed, stated, found that…..…

Nevertheless, you can shift to the present tense if your research findings can be generalized or held in general:

Hunt (2010)  revealed  that revising a manuscript  improves  its chance of acceptance.

Kropf (2016)  discovered  that color  is  an essential trait of fresh meat.

Which tense should I use referring to my document (thesis, dissertation, research proposal, etc.)

If you wish to preview what is ahead in your text or elaborate on what is happening at that moment in your document, you must use either the present or future tense.

In this research, I  will specify …

In this research, I  specify …

In the last chapter, I  will elaborate on …

In the last chapter, I  elaborate on …

You can also refer back to already presented information, such as a synopsis of discussions that have already occurred or conclusions to your chapters or sections. Then, the tense you have to use is the past tense:

Chapter 1  contained  the literature review.

In closing, in this section, I  posed  information on…

Should I use simple past tense or present perfect tense?

British and American English have slightly varying rules for using the present perfect tense. Scientists have also reported that individual preferences may dictate the usage of the simple past or the present perfect tense in American English. Put differently, an American English writer may opt for the simple past on specific occasions, whereas another American English writer may prefer the present perfect without apparent reasons.

However, you must note that the simple past tense denotes a completed action. Therefore, it usually employs signal words or phrases, including "yesterday," "last year," "a week ago," or "in 2020," to designate the specific time in the past when the action occurred.

I  went  to Greece  in 2011 .

He  finished  the team member performance report  last week .

The present perfect concentrates more on the action without accentuating the specific time it occurred. Note that the action has occurred even though the specific time is unavailable.

I  have seen this movie three times .

The present perfect also concentrates more on the result of the action.

He  has finished  reviewing the manuscript.

You should be able to understand the usage of the present perfect with some signal words such as "since," "already," "just," "until now," "(not) yet," "so far," "ever," "lately," or "recently."

I  have  already  finished  the book on the Turkish economy.

Researchers  have used  this term  since  it was coined. 

He has recently defended his Ph.D. dissertation.

If you need us to make your thesis or dissertation, contact us unhesitatingly!

Best Edit & Proof expert editors and proofreaders focus on offering papers with proper tone, content, and style of  academic writing,  and also provide an upscale  editing and proofreading service  for you. If you consider our pieces of advice, you will witness a notable increase in the chance for your research manuscript to be accepted by the publishers. We work together as an academic writing style guide by bestowing subject-area editing and proofreading around several categorized writing styles. With the group of our expert editors, you will always find us all set to help you identify the tone and style that your manuscript needs to get a nod from the publishers.

Tenses in dissertations and theses

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Tenses in dissertations and theses

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This article explains how can you dictate on tense usage in a dissertation or thesis. To give you an opportunity to practice proofreading, we have left a few spelling, punctuation, or grammatical errors in the text. See if you can spot them! If you spot the errors correctly, you will be entitled to a 10% discount.

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dissertation past tense

After you finish your thesis, what is next is editing your thesis. Rather than sending it to your friends or professors, a better option is to find a professional editing and proofreading service. They usually have trained and experienced experts, have Ph.D. in their fields, and will edit your thesis without prejudice. Their suggestions will improve your thesis's content and structure, rendering it much more effective.

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After gathering and analyzing your data, next is penning the results. You report the primary findings of your study in this section. The most critical issue is that reporting your results must be concise and pursue a logical order.

dissertation past tense

An abstract usually summarizes a lengthier work (including a dissertation, thesis, research paper, or review). The abstract should explicitly state the objectives and results of your research. Thus, readers can learn what your research addresses.

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Tense Tendencies in Thesis and Dissertations

Score high grades with proper use of tenses in dissertation and thesis papers, tense trends in a dissertation: which tense to be used in which chapter.

However well and thoroughly researched your dissertation or dissertation may be, it will fail to impress and secure good grades if it has distorted grammar and spelling errors. So, before the submission of dissertation, you need to be doubly sure about your work by proofreading again and again to make it free from grammatical errors.

Let us discuss one of the most commonly made queries here. What tense to be used in which section of the dissertation? If you are confused about the same read on….

Consistency of verb throughout the dissertation ensures a smooth expression and leaves the impression of your dissertation as an impeccable one. So, which type of verb tenses should be used in the different sections of the dissertation? Here is a quick look:

When to Use Past Tense?

For describing Methodologies and Reporting Your Results:

Methodologies used is to be written in the past tense as it is something you have already attempted or completed so it should be written in the past tense only. Also, the results section is for the purpose of recording what you have found so it has to be written in past as well.

Citations or when referring to the work done by past researchers

When you cite any previous research in your dissertation, you need to use past tense. Citations of dissertation are to be written in the past tense. Whatever the previous researcher has said, did or wrote happened in the past at a specific point of time and hence it cannot be written in the present or future tense.

To describe a fact, law, finding or any other similar thing used in the dissertation which is no longer relevant or valid is to be mentioned in the past tense.

When to Use Present Tense?

For the findings that are general or universal truths or for the findings that are relevant and valid till date:

Present tense is used in the dissertations to express the findings that are still valid, relevant or true. Not only this, all the facts, general truths, conclusions, etc. that are supported by the research results and that cannot be changed are to be written in the present tense.

To refer any section or any portion which is a part of dissertation

If you refer to certain charts, tables or graphs etc. mentioned in the paper itself you should use a present tense only. Also, when you need to discuss your current findings or conclude depending on your current findings then you should use present tense.

Title: This is the place where no other tense accept present tense can be used.

Abstract of the Dissertation

Abstract of a dissertation is a short summary of a long and elaborative work. It enables the potential readers to identify what the paper is all about and decide whether the paper is worth reading or not. It includes statement of the topic, its purpose and objectives of the research. This is to be written in perfect past.

Introduction of the Dissertation:

It provides preliminary background information that puts research in context. It also clarifies the focus of study and also points out the value of research. This particular section specifies the aims and objectives of research work. It is to be written in (present and future) tense.

Methodologies Used:

In this section of the dissertation all the methods adopted for gathering and collecting data have to be mentioned along with their proper details. The section should be written in past perfect, present or in future tense.

Result of the Dissertation:

In this section of the dissertation work, you report the findings of study that are based on the methodologies used in conducting the dissertation. This section of the research work states the finding of research where researcher puts all the findings of the research logically without any interpretations. The section is to be written in Past perfect tense.

Discussions of Dissertation:

The purpose of discussion is to interpret and describe the importance of findings in the view of what is already known about the problem and to investigate and explain the understanding of dissertation. Since it is direct and straightforward, it should be written in present tense only. Since it is like a direct discussion with the readers, it needs to be in present tense only.

Conclusion:

Conclusion of a dissertation is an important section of dissertation work as it is the last part of dissertation and when you write it effectively, you will be able to create a lasting impression. So, aim towards making it the last impression and clearly state the answer of your research, make a summary of the entire research work and reflects your research. Conclusion is to be written in present tense mentioning the scope of further study on the topic.

Background: A Quick Look

There are three types of tenses that make 98% of the tensed verbs that are used in the academic writing. One of the most common tense used in writing dissertations is the present simple. Past simple and present perfect are also widely used.

Where to Use Present Simple Tense?

It is used for framing the Research paper. When you open the dissertation and begin to write what the readers already know about the topic and in the conclusion to tell what is not known.

Apart from that Present Simple is used for the following:

  • To point out the main focus, or argument or aim of the research paper.
  • To make general statements, interpretations, conclusions and other findings of the past and current research.
  • To refer to the findings of previous studies without the mention of author’s name.
  • To refer to charts, tables or figures etc.
  • To describe the events or plots.

Where to Use Past Simple Tense?

The past simple tense is used for referring the activities that took in the past. There are some specific places where this tense is used.

  • To make general statements or the conclusions past simple tense is used. Sometimes, interpretations about the findings of the previous and current research are also done in past simple.
  • To describe methodologies or data.
  • To report the results of studies.

Where to Use Present Perfect Tense?

This tense is used to refer that the previous research work is valid and relevant today. This tense has three following functions.

  • For introducing any new topic or used for introducing a new report or a research paper.
  • For summarising or briefing the previous research.
  • For pointing out any gaps in the existing research work and to set a connection between the past and the present.
  • To explain any past findings without referring to the original paper.

Different sections of the dissertation take up different tenses. You need to be well aware and use your rationale to apply the correct form of tense. Future tense is used in the rare case but it can be used when future scope of any study done is discussed. There are times when you can switch tense within a paragraph or even within a sentence but you should have a good reason for doing so and the sentence should not sound weird anyway.

A glimpse of which tense to use where in dissertation

  • Chapter one which is an introduction or a prelude is to be written. Both the present and the past tense are used.
  • Chapter two is the literature review and it is to be written only in the past tense as they are the previously carried out works.
  • Chapter three is research analysis (specific methods chosen by the writer to carry out research work. It is to be written in past.
  • hapter four caters to results derived from research studies. It explains the results of objective, question and point out the salient results. It is to be written in combination of present and past.
  • Chapter five is conclusion, further discussions or future scope. It has to be in present tense only.

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Q: What verb tense should I use in Chapter 3?

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Answer Last Updated: Jul 08, 2016 Views: 5127

There is not one specific tense that chapter 3 should be written in. It will depend on the sitaution. Note the following key points to assist with tense use for chapter 3:

  • Your school-specific Dissertation Guide may instruct you to write Chapter 3 in the past tense. In the writing process, though, you may find that the chapter requires a mix of the literary present as well as present, past, and future tenses.
  • In particular, the final published dissertation reflects the completed research project. Chapter 3 therefore tells readers what you did , not what you planned to do .
  • Remove mention of the proposal or the proposed study . Since the research project has been completed, it is no longer in the proposal stage.
  • Look for future-tense verbs, as in ( will + main verb) or ( will be + main verb). Because Chapter 3 details the steps in your completed research process, you must now use the past rather than the future tense when referring to these steps. For example, use “Participants were required to sign an Informed Consent form” rather than “participants will be required to sign an Informed Consent form.” Likewise, write, “The researcher obtained IRB approval” rather than “The researcher will obtain IRB approval.”
  • Remember that other tenses may be necessary, and you may already be using them correctly. However, when discussing the specific process and execution of your own completed research project, the future tense is neither appropriate nor correct.
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  • The Past Tense l Explanation, Examples & Worksheet

The Past Tense l Explanation, Examples & Worksheet

Published on September 15, 2023 by Eoghan Ryan . Revised on November 1, 2023.

The past tense is a verb tense used to talk about past actions, states of being, or events.

There are four past tense forms: the past simple (e.g., “you cooked”), the past progressive (e.g., “he was singing”), the past perfect (e.g., “I had arrived”), and the past perfect progressive (e.g., “They had been driving”).

Past tense forms

Table of contents

Simple past, past progressive, past perfect, past perfect progressive, worksheet: past tense, frequently asked questions about the past tense.

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”).

Most verbs in the simple past don’t change form depending on the subject. One exception is the irregular verb “be,” which is conjugated as either “was” or “were,” depending on the subject.

Aria was late for work yesterday.

We watched a movie last Friday night.

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The past progressive is used to refer to an action or event that was taking place at a time in the past. It can be used to indicate that an ongoing past action was interrupted by another action or that two past actions were occurring at the same time.

The past progressive is formed using the past tense of “be” (i.e., “was/were”) along with the present participle (“-ing” form) of the main verb.

Amir was studying while his roommate was cooking dinner.

We were hiking in the mountains when we saw a bear.

The past perfect is used to indicate that a past action or event took place prior to another past action or event. It can also be used in conditional sentences to talk about a hypothetical past event.

The past perfect is formed using the auxiliary verb “had” and the past participle of the main verb.

I had never tasted Sushi until last night.

By the time we arrived at the theater , the movie had already started .

The past perfect progressive is used to indicate that an action began in the past and continued up until another time in the past.

The past perfect progressive is formed by adding the auxiliary verbs “had” and “been” before the present participle of the main verb.

Amy had been cooking for hours when the guests canceled .

I had been searching for my missing keys when I realized they were in my pocket.

Practice using the past tense correctly with the exercises below. In the blank space in each sentence, fill in the correct past tense form based on the verb specified.

  • Practice questions
  • Answers and explanations
  • I was __________ [cook] dinner when you called.
  • Anna __________ [play] piano when she was a child.
  • Dave had been __________ [work] as a teacher when he won the lottery.
  • Eva had already __________ [leave] the office by the time I arrived.
  • This sentence uses the past progressive. The past progressive is formed using “was/were” along with the present participle (“-ing” form) of the main verb.
  • This sentence uses the simple past. The simple past of regular verbs is formed by adding “-ed” to the end of the infinitive of the verb (e.g., “play” becomes “played”).
  • This sentence is in the past perfect progressive. The past perfect progressive is formed using “had” and “been” along with the present participle of the main verb .
  • This sentence is in the past perfect. The past perfect is formed using “had” and the past participle of the main verb.

The past tense form of “lead” is “led.” It’s used to describe a past action (e.g., “The coach led his team to the championship”).

The past participle of “lead” is also “led” (e.g., “He had led the team as far as he could”).

The past tense form of “lay” is “laid.” It’s used to describe a past action (e.g., “I laid the book down on the table”).

The past participle of “lay” is also “laid” (e.g., “I had just laid the book down when the phone rang”).

The past tense form of “choose” is “chose.” It’s used to describe a past action (e.g., “Ava chose to study science”).

The past participle of “choose” is “chosen” (e.g., “We had just chosen a dessert when the waiter told us the kitchen was closed for the evening”).

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Abstract Verb Tense: Should You Use Past or Present?

dissertation past tense

Since many of you have asked us questions about seemingly conflicting rules about which tense to use in a research paper, we wrote this article to clarify the issue.

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 .
  • If the  subject of your sentence is your study or the article   you are writing  (e.g. “Our study demonstrates…,” or “Here, we show…”), then you should use the  present tense .
  • If you are stating a  conclusion or  an  interpretation , use the  present tense .
  • If the subject of your sentence is an  actual result or observation  (e.g. “Mice in Group B developed…”), you would use the  past tense .

Which Abstract Tense to Use

You may have been taught to use the present tense because your professors want you to focus on sharing your interpretations in your abstract rather than simply stating what the results are. (And we agree since the main reason for reading your research papers is to understand the significance of your findings!)

To illustrate the different use of verb tenses in an abstract, let’s take a look at this  research paper abstract from an article published in  Nature .

  • The present tense is used for general facts (“The anaerobic formation and oxidation of methane involve…”).
  • The present tense is used when the study or article is either the subject of the sentence or the thing to which you are referring (“Here [this article] we show that an anaerobic thermophilic enrichment culture …”).
  • When talking about an actual observation, however, the past tense is used (“Genes encoding 16S rRNA…were repeatedly retrieved from marine subsurface sediments…”).

As you can see from this example, this abstract is largely written in the present tense. This is because it  focuses on the authors’ interpretations and not on specific observations and methods.  If your abstract contains more descriptions of your findings because you need those for the reader to follow your interpretations and conclusions, then a bigger part of your abstract will be written in the past tense. But make sure you switch between the tenses when you switch between the different categories of information described above. 

We hope this addresses any questions you have about tense use in research paper abstracts. We know how complicated these grammar rules can be!

For rules about which verb tenses to use in a research paper , check out our infographic! For additional information about how to write a strong research paper  introduction , methods , results , or discussion section , make sure to check out our Wordvice academic resources website ! We also have articles on how to make an outline before drafting your manuscript, how to come up with the best title for your paper , or how to impress the editor of your target journal with a great cover letter .

And if you require English proofreading or  academic editing for your abstract, be sure to check out our Manuscript Editing Services . Our editors revise your work for grammar, punctuation, style, readability, and conciseness. After all, a polished abstract is crucial to getting researchers to read your research paper in its entirety.

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COMMENTS

  1. Tenses

    What tenses will you use? The majority of your dissertation or research report will be written in the past tense.This is because you are reporting on what you researched, how you did it and what you found.Even if you choose to write up your research as you are doing it, the final report will still read as if it is written after the everything is completed.

  2. Changing tenses as you write your dissertation

    Changing tenses as you write your dissertation. The PhD student I am supervising sent the first draft of her methodology chapter yesterday with a series of questions and notes for me and the co-supervisor. One of them was about tense: she is writing everything in the present and future tense, but wondered if this was a mistake.

  3. PDF Writing About Your Research: Verb Tense

    Writing About Your Research: Verb Tense The following guidelines may help you figure out when to use past and present tense. USE PAST TENSE . . . To describe your methodology and report your results. At the time you write your report, thesis, dissertation or article, you have completed your study, so should use past tense in your methodology

  4. PDF DISSERTATION Chapters 1-5 Section Rubric

    Dissertation Chapter 1 - 5 Sections Rubric - Version 1 May 1, 2019 APA formatting errors. Verb tense is an important consideration for Chapters 1 through 3. For the proposal, the researcher uses future tense (e.g. "The purpose of this study is to…"), whereas in the dissertation, the chapters are revised to reflect past tense (e.g. "The

  5. Verb tense

    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. Present perfect. Others have used similar approaches. Reporting of your own or other researchers' results ...

  6. Verb Tenses in Academic Writing

    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 ...

  7. PDF Guidelines for Writing Research Proposals and Dissertations

    proposal is written in the present and future tenses, the methodology and findings in the final report or dissertation are written mostly in the past tense. Preceding the main body of the report are several pages containing the preliminary material. The following lists the elements (in order) that comprise the preliminary material.

  8. Verb Tenses

    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 ...

  9. Tense tendencies in academic texts

    Tense tendencies in academic texts. Published on September 30, 2014 by Shane Bryson . Revised on July 23, 2023. Different sections of academic papers ( theses, dissertations and essays) tend to use different tenses . The following is a breakdown of these tendencies by section. Please note that while it is useful to keep these tendencies in mind ...

  10. Using the Past Tenses of English Verbs in Theses and Dissertations

    PhD Thesis Editing Services. 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 ...

  11. What tense should I write my results in?

    Results are usually written in the past tense, ... Dissertation word counts vary widely across different fields, institutions, and levels of education: An undergraduate dissertation is typically 8,000-15,000 words; A master's dissertation is typically 12,000-50,000 words;

  12. PDF Writing About Your Research: Verb Tense USE PAST TENSE

    USE PAST TENSE. . . To describe your methodology and report your results. At the time you are writing your report, thesis, dissertation or article, you have already completed your study, so you should use past tense in your methodology section to record what you did, and in your results section to report what you found.

  13. Dissertation do's

    Also recognize that dissertations require both past and present tense, says Bikos. Use past tense for the introduction, method and results sections; use present tense for your discussion. Additionally, feel free to use words like, "I" and "we," Bikos notes. You did all the research, after all. Take credit for it.

  14. PDF Verb tense in scientific manuscripts

    past. tense indicates that an action already occurred, the . present. tense indicates that the action is currently occurring, and the . future. tense indicates that the event has not yet occurred. Verbs can also be conjugated into a past, present, or future . perfect. tense, in which the action is defined relative to another point in time (see the

  15. How Can You Decide on Tense Usage in Your Dissertation?

    In discussing the implications of the results and present conclusions, you must use the present tense (i.e., our results suggest that alcohol consumption increases the accident incidence rate). When you need to explain what an author or scientist stated or did, you must use the past tense. Milliken (2012) reported, revealed, stated, found that

  16. What tense to use when writing a thesis?

    Your dissertation presumably falls within some academic discipline. Look at other papers in the same discipline, and see what tenses they use. For example, unlike your suggestion, in math papers the abstract is usually present tense. ... Past tense. Work done . We collected blood samples from . . . Consequently, astronomers decided to rename ...

  17. What tenses should be used in the research paper and thesis? The most

    Article Tense of Reporting in Dissertation Literature Reviews. Cite. ... Chapter 1 (introduction) should be past tense, chapter 2 (literature) can be present or past depending on how you quote ...

  18. How to Write a Results Section

    Here are a few best practices: Your results should always be written in the past tense. While the length of this section depends on how much data you collected and analyzed, it should be written as concisely as possible. Only include results that are directly relevant to answering your research questions.

  19. How to Use Tenses While Writing Thesis and Dissertations

    A glimpse of which tense to use where in dissertation. Chapter one which is an introduction or a prelude is to be written. Both the present and the past tense are used. Chapter two is the literature review and it is to be written only in the past tense as they are the previously carried out works.

  20. What verb tense should I use in Chapter 3?

    It will depend on the sitaution. Note the following key points to assist with tense use for chapter 3: Your school-specific Dissertation Guide may instruct you to write Chapter 3 in the past tense. In the writing process, though, you may find that the chapter requires a mix of the literary present as well as present, past, and future tenses.

  21. The Past Tense l Explanation, Examples & Worksheet

    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").

  22. Abstract Verb Tense: Should You Use Past or Present?

    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.