Verb tenses in research papers

Which tenses are used most often in academic writing?

• present simple

• past simple

• future

• present perfect

Which tense is used for presenting general statements and facts?

• present simple

• past simple

• present perfect

Which tense is used for presenting facts or findings from an earlier specified time or place?

• present simple

• past simple

• present perfect

Which tense can be used for impactfully introducing background information in a paragraph?

• present simple

• past simple

• present perfect

When can the present tense NOT be used in research papers?

• to give my opinion or comment on someone's research (literature review)

• to refer to figures and tables (results section)

• to describe data collection methods (methods section)

When can the past tense NOT be used in research papers?

• to give recommendations for further studies (conclusion section)

• to present a summary of the reserch (abstract section)

• to describe data collection methods (methods section)

When can the present perfect tense NOT be used in research papers?

• to clarify that your statements still hold true at the time of reading (conclusion section)

• to present the results of the reserch (results section)

• to present facts whose time of demonstration is unknown or not important (introduction section)