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Simplistic View

Is a report written in past tense or present tense?

• Usually the present perfect tense or the past tense is used.
• Present perfect is used when an incident took place in the recent past and still
continues to affect the present. For instance heavy rains in some city would have
caused damage. So, “people have been dislocated”.
• Sometimes past perfect tense may be used when two actions occur in a chronology
in the past.
• For example:- By the time the firefighters arrived the building had already
suffered damage.

In the Conclusions to your report, you may use the past if the conclusions refer to a
specific state of affairs in the past, or the present if you're confident that your discoveries
are universal or continue to be true.

Using the Correct Tense

When writing a business document, it is important to use the correct tense. Whether you
are putting together an email, a memo, a business plan, a report, or any other type of
business-related writing, using the correct tense will help to keep the document clear and
understandable.

For example, if you are writing a report or a summary about a meeting or a conference,
since it already occurred, the verbs should be in the past tense, as in “The
meeting started on time, with introductory remarks made by Mr. Smith.” Of course, any
comments that relate to ongoing activities need to be in the present. An example of that
is “Efforts to maintain our market share are proceeding in a satisfactory manner.”
Obviously, references to future actions should be written in the future tense, as in the
following example: “The new plan will be implemented within 90 days.”

Not to complicate matters, but, within a sentence, you might need to use past, present,
and future tenses. The following is an example of that: “Bob said (past) that what we are
doing (present) now is (present) sufficient, and we will not need to change (future) our
procedure any time soon.”

When writing emails, evaluations, or other business papers, you do not need to consult a
style or an English usage book, but you should make every effort to write carefully and
correctly, including using the proper tense in every sentence. Not only will your writing
look and sound professional, but it is more likely to be correctly understood. The last thing
that you want is for colleagues, supervisors, or other individuals who read your writing to
misunderstand what you are saying.
Academic (Four Main Styles)

APA (American Psychological Association)/Harvard: It is the professional guild who first

developed the guidelines of the style. APA is a style of formatting academic papers that is
used mostly in the social sciences. Per APA (and its non-American variant, Harvard), you
should primarily use past tense, especially in literature reviews where you’re talking about
authors’ past studies. It should be:
“Johnson (2008) argued . . .”
not
“Johnson (2008) argues . . . .”

The same is true for your Results and Method sections, but APA makes an exception for
Discussion sections (where you examine your conclusions and the implications of the
study), which can be in present tense if it better conveys your meaning.

MLA (Modern Language Association):

It is a style of formatting academic papers that is used mostly in the arts and humanities.

This style is a bit more straightforward. Per MLA, you should be almost always using
present tense:
“In To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch argues . . .”
If you need to differentiate time, you should use present perfect tense:
“For many years, Scout has been worrying about . . . .”
If you must, you can use some past tense, but keep it to a minimum.

CMS (Chicago Manual of Style): It is a style of formatting written works that is most
widely used in publishing. This style is a bit more lenient. Per Chicago, you can use either
present or past (Though it’s best to use present when discussing literature and past when
writing about history.), but make sure you stay consistent. If you switch, make sure you
need to, such as:
The Romans used various military strategies, some of which are still in use today.

AP (Associated Press): AP, which is used by news media, is also more flexible. There is no
set tense; instead, you should be endeavouring to use present/past/future as necessary to
make sure the events you are describing are as clear as possible. AP also recommends
using time words (today, tomorrow, March 17, etc.) to anchor your piece and further
reduce ambiguity.

Resume

When talking about your job experience in resumes, the rule is simple: Use present tense
for current positions:
Lead team in HVAC solutions
And use past tense for past positions:
Led team in HVAC solutions

Business Plan

Professors and potential investors have different views on what tense a business plan
should be written in, but definitely you should be using either future or present tense.
Some people argue that you should always write a business plan in future tense because
you’re talking about your future plans.
But there’s another school of thought that recommends using present tense instead
because this will allow your plan to stay current as you develop it and you develop your
business. In other words, as you develop your business, you develop your plan, and it stays
current with what you’re doing.

Fiction

There are no rules when writing stories and novels, you can (and people do) use just about
any tense or viewpoint or perspective imaginable, but there are conventions that you may
wish to follow, especially if you’re just starting out. Novels, especially “genre” novels,
like science fiction, romance, and crime, generally are written in past tense. And for most
beginning writers, it’s recommended that you start out doing so as well. Once you get
some experience under your belt, you can then start experimenting. A lot of literary
fiction is written in present tense these days. It just depends on what you’re comfortable
with and what you think your audience wants.
Above all, fictional writing needs to be consistent in its tense. Just as above, don’t switch
unless you must. (BTW, fictional writing is done in Chicago Style.)

Everything Else

For everything else, such as business letters, admission essays, and e-mails, and especially
in more informal contexts, just use your best judgment and write in whatever tense feels
right to you. Go with your instincts and remember that, unless you’re writing in a formal
academic context, you have more leeway to do whatever you like.

Just remember, for all styles and purposes, always be consistent. Try to pick one tense
and stick with it throughout your piece. If you have to switch tenses, make it very obvious
why you are doing so, and at least try to start new paragraphs for new tenses.

Verb Tense Consistency

Controlling Verb Tense

Consistent verb tenses clearly establish the time of the actions being described. Changes
in verb tense help readers understand the time relationships among various narrated
events. Writers will generally maintain one tense for the main discourse and indicate
changes in time by changing tense relative to that primary tense. Even apparently non-
narrative writing should employ verb tenses consistently and clearly.

When a passage begins in one tense and then shifts without warning and to another,
readers can be confused.

Rescue workers put water on her face and lifted her head gently onto a pillow.
Finally she opens her eyes.

The main action is taking place in some past time, so the second sentence should
read: Finally she opened her eyes.

General guideline

Do not shift from one tense to another if the time frame for each action or state is the
same.
Examples:

• I went into the building, and the next thing that I see is a man who is holding a gun
and demanding my money.
"Went" is past tense; "see" and "is holding" are present tense.
Corrected: I went into the building, and the next thing that I saw was a man
holding a gun and demanding my money.

• The directors are working on changes to the rules so when students left their
computers, they lost their privileges in the lab.
"are working" is present tense; "left" and "lost" are past tense for no logical reason.
Corrected: The directors are working on changes to the rules so when students
leave their computers, they lose their privileges in the lab.

• Yesterday we had walked to school but later rode the bus home.
"Had walked" is past perfect tense but should be past to maintain consistency
within the time frame (yesterday); "rode" is past, referring to an action completed
before the current time frame.
Corrected: Yesterday we walked to school but later rode the bus home.

General guideline

Do shift tense to indicate a change in time frame from one action or state to another.

Examples:

• My essay contains quotations that I found in a journal.

The essay currently contains the quotations and the quotations were found in the
past.

• We will develop a new version of the program because our client is suggesting
several changes.
A new version will be developed in the future because the client is currently
suggesting changes.

• Newton proved that white light is a mixture of the colours of the rainbow.
Newton proved this in the past and it is still true now that white light is a mixture
of colours of the rainbow.

Controlling Shifts in a Paragraph or Extended Discourse

A paragraph or complete work should have one basic tense with shifts to other tenses to
indicate a change in time frame to the reader. Your basic tense will probably be past,
present, or future.

Past

If you are writing about past events or if you are discussing completed studies or findings
or arguments given in scientific literature, your basic tense throughout your work should
be past tense. Study the following paragraph and you will see that the basic tense is past
and that it inappropriately shifts to future and present tense.
I watched (past tense) the small children with their mother as they threw (past tense)
bread to the ducks. The ducks catch (X inappropriate present tense) the bread in their
beaks. The children cheered (past tense) loudly. This made (past tense) me happy and I
smiled (past tense). I will go (X inappropriate future tense) home happy. When I went
(past tense) home I wrote (past tense) a simple poem about my day.

Present

If you are writing about facts or your own ideas or if you are describing what happens in a
particular book or movie, use the present tense. Study the following paragraph and you
will see that the basic tense is present and that it inappropriately shifts to past and future
tense.

In Smith’s new book “Dragon” the theme of driving ambition is (present tense) important.
The main character, Big John, takes (present tense) the prophecy of his friend, Jacko,
seriously and develops (present tense) a dreadful plan which leads (present tense) to
death and misery. He believed (X inappropriate past tense) the plan was fool proof but he
is (present tense) wrong. He will encounter (X inappropriate future tense) many obstacles
on his journey. At first Big John believes (present tense) his plan is (present tense)
working but he was (X inappropriate past tense) wrong. This book is (present tense) not
up to Smith’s usual standard.

Future

If you are reflecting on what will happen in the future, use future tense. Study the
following paragraph and you will see that the basic tense is future and that it
inappropriately shifts to present and past tense.

I will take (future tense) a train to Sydney and then a bus to Parkes. It will be (future
tense) great. I will write (future tense) to you later and will give (will give) you all the
details of the trip. No doubt I enjoy (X inappropriate present tense) the food on the
train. I will visit (future tense) Mary and Tom Brown after the conference. They liked (X
inappropriate past tense) a visit. I will see (future tense) you on my return!

Tense Changes

Just as tense change is sometimes justified within sentences, so too tense change is
sometimes justified in paragraphs and complete works. The basic rule is to change tense
only when necessary.

In the following paragraph you will see that the basic tense is past but that tense shifts
appropriately to past and future.

Our researchers found (appropriate past tense) that most people who used (appropriate
past tense) the system liked (appropriate past tense) it. Most said (appropriate past
tense) that they particularly liked (appropriate past tense) the sound effects. However,
some people mentioned (appropriate past tense) that they found (appropriate past tense)
the text too small. We will be making (appropriate future tense) the text one size larger.
Hopefully, this will satisfy (appropriate future tense) the users. Although we conducted
(appropriate past tense) our study at a very busy time of year, we found (appropriate
past tense) that many people gave up (appropriate past tense) an hour of their time for
this study. We are grateful (appropriate present tense) to them all.
General Guidelines

• Rely on past tense to narrate events and to refer to an author or an author's ideas
as historical entities (biographical information about a historical figure or narration
of developments in an author's ideas over time).

• Use present tense to state facts, to refer to perpetual or habitual actions, and to
discuss your own ideas or those expressed by an author in a particular work. Also
use present tense to describe action in a literary work, movie, or other fictional
narrative. Occasionally, for dramatic effect, you may wish to narrate an event in
present tense as though it were happening now. If you do, use present tense
consistently throughout the narrative, making shifts only where appropriate.

• Future action may be expressed in a variety of ways, including the use of will,
shall, is going to, are about to, tomorrow and other adverbs of time, and a wide
range of contextual cues.

Sample paragraphs

The main tense in this first sample is past. Tense shifts are inappropriate and are
indicated in bold.

The gravel crunched and spattered beneath the wheels of the bus as it swung into the
station. Outside the window, shadowy figures peered at the bus through the darkness.
Somewhere in the crowd, two, maybe three, people were waiting for me: a woman, her
son, and possibly her husband. I could not prevent my imagination from churning out a
picture of them, the town, and the place I will soon call home. Hesitating a moment,
I rise from my seat, these images flashing through my mind. (adapted from a narrative)

Inappropriate shifts from past to present, such as those that appear in the above
paragraph, are sometimes hard to resist. The writer becomes drawn into the narrative and
begins to relive the event as an ongoing experience. The inconsistency should be avoided,
however. In the sample, will should be would, and rise should be rose.

The main tense in this second sample is present. Tense shifts—all appropriate—are
indicated in bold.

A dragonfly rests on a branch overhanging a small stream this July morning. It is newly
emerged from brown nymphal skin. As a nymph, it crept over the rocks of the stream
bottom, feeding first on protozoa and mites, then, as it grew larger, on the young of other
aquatic insects. Now an adult, it will feed on flying insects and eventually will mate. The
mature dragonfly is completely transformed from the drab creature that once blended
with underwater sticks and leaves. Its head, thorax, and abdomen glitter; its
wings are iridescent in the sunlight. (adapted from an article in the magazine Wilderness)

This writer uses the present tense to describe the appearance of a dragonfly on a
particular July morning. However, both past and future tenses are called for when she
refers to its previous actions and to its predictable activity in the future.
Effective Writing

Effective writing is readable — that is, clear, accurate, and concise. When you are writing
a paper, try to get your ideas across in such a way that the audience will understand them
effortlessly, unambiguously, and rapidly. To this end, strive to write in a straightforward
way. There is no need to write about science in unusual, complicated, or overly formal
ways in an effort to "sound scientific" or to impress your audience. If you can tell a friend
about your work, you are off to a good start.

To construct sentences that reflect your ideas, focus these sentences appropriately.
Express one idea per sentence. Use your current topic — that is, what you are writing
about — as the grammatical subject of your sentence (see Verbs: Choosing between active
and passive voice). When writing a complex sentence (a sentence that includes several
clauses), place the main idea in the main clause rather than a subordinate clause. In
particular, focus on the phenomenon at hand, not on the fact that you observed it.

Constructing your sentences logically is a good start, but it may not be enough. To ensure
they are readable, make sure your sentences do not tax readers' short-term memory by
obliging these readers to remember long pieces of text before knowing what to do with
them. In other words, keep together what goes together. Then, work on conciseness: See
whether you can replace long phrases with shorter ones or eliminate words without loss of
clarity or accuracy.

The following screens cover the drafting process in more detail. Specifically, they discuss
how to use verbs effectively and how to take care of your text's mechanics.

Verbs

Much of the strength of a clause comes from its verb. Therefore, to express your ideas
accurately, choose an appropriate verb and use it well. In particular, use it in the right
tense, choose carefully between active and passive voice, and avoid dangling verb forms.

Verbs are for describing actions, states, or occurrences. To give a clause its full strength
and keep it short, do not bury the action, state, or occurrence in a noun (typically
combined with a weak verb), as in "The catalyst produced a significant increase in
conversion rate." Instead write, "The catalyst increased the conversion rate significantly."
The examples below show how an action, state, or occurrence can be moved from a noun
back to a verb.

Instead of Write
Make an examination of . . . examine
Present a comparison of . . . compare
Be in agreement . . . agree
Perform an analysis of . . . analyze
Produce an improvement in . . . improve

Using the right 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 reported, what happened in an experiment, and so on. Use the present
tense to express general truths, such as conclusions (drawn by you or by others) and
atemporal facts (including information about what the paper does or covers). Reserve the
future tense for perspectives: what you will do in the coming months or years. Typically,
most of your sentences will be in the past tense, some will be in the present tense, and
very few, if any, will be in the future tense.

Past tense

Work done
We collected blood samples from . . .
Groves et al. determined the growth rate of . . .
Consequently, astronomers decided to rename . . .

Work reported
Jankowsky reported a similar growth rate . . .
In 2009, Chu published an alternative method to . . .
Irarrázaval observed the opposite behavior in . . .

Observations
The mice in Group A developed, on average, twice as much . . .
The number of defects increased sharply . . .
The conversion rate was close to 95% . . .

Present tense

General truths
Microbes in the human gut have a profound influence on . . .
The Reynolds number provides a measure of . . .
Smoking increases the risk of coronary heart disease . . .

Atemporal facts
This paper presents the results of . . .
Section 3.1 explains the difference between . . .
Behbood's 1969 paper provides a framework for . . .

Future tense

Perspectives
In a follow-up experiment, we will study the role of . . .
The influence of temperature will be the object of future research . . .

Note the difference in scope between a statement in the past tense and the same
statement in the present tense: "The temperature increased linearly over time" refers to a
specific experiment, whereas "The temperature increases linearly over time" generalizes
the experimental observation, suggesting that the temperature always increases linearly
over time in such circumstances.

In complex sentences, you may have to combine two different tenses — for example, "In
1905, Albert Einstein postulated that the speed of light is constant . . . . " In this
sentence, postulated refers to something that happened in the past (in 1905) and is
therefore in the past tense, whereas is expresses a general truth and is in the present
tense.
Choosing between active and passive voice

In English, verbs can express an action in one of two voices. The active voice focuses on
the agent: "John measured the temperature." (Here, the agent — John — is the
grammatical subject of the sentence.) In contrast, the passive voice focuses on the object
that is acted upon: "The temperature was measured by John." (Here, the temperature, not
John, is the grammatical subject of the sentence.)

To choose between active and passive voice, consider above all what you are discussing
(your topic) and place it in the subject position. For example, should you write "The
preprocessor sorts the two arrays" or "The two arrays are sorted by the preprocessor"? If
you are discussing the preprocessor, the first sentence is the better option. In contrast, if
you are discussing the arrays, the second sentence is better. If you are unsure what you
are discussing, consider the surrounding sentences: Are they about the preprocessor or the
two arrays?

The desire to be objective in scientific writing has led to an overuse of the passive voice,
often accompanied by the exclusion of agents: "The temperature was measured" (with the
verb at the end of the sentence). Admittedly, the agent is often irrelevant: No matter who
measured the temperature, we would expect its value to be the same. However, a
systematic preference for the passive voice is by no means optimal, for at least two
reasons.

For one, sentences written in the passive voice are often less interesting or more difficult
to read than those written in the active voice. A verb in the active voice does not require
a person as the agent; an inanimate object is often appropriate. For example, the rather
uninteresting sentence "The temperature was measured . . . " may be replaced by the
more interesting "The measured temperature of 253°C suggests a secondary reaction in . .
. ." In the second sentence, the subject is still temperature (so the focus remains the
same), but the verb suggests is in the active voice. Similarly, the hard-to-read sentence
"In this section, a discussion of the influence of the recirculating-water temperature on
the conversion rate of . . . is presented" (long subject, verb at the end) can be turned into
"This section discusses the influence of . . . . " The subject is now section, which is what
this sentence is really about, yet the focus on the discussion has been maintained through
the active-voice verb discusses.

As a second argument against a systematic preference for the passive voice, readers
sometimes need people to be mentioned. A sentence such as "The temperature is
believed to be the cause for . . . " is ambiguous. Readers will want to know who believes
this — the authors of the paper, or the scientific community as a whole? To clarify the
sentence, use the active voice and set the appropriate people as the subject, in either the
third or the first person, as in the examples below.

Biologists believe the temperature to be . . .

Keustermans et al. (1997) believe the temperature to be . . .
The authors believe the temperature to be . . .
We believe the temperature to be . . .

Avoiding dangling verb forms

A verb form needs a subject, either expressed or implied. When the verb is in a non-finite
form, such as an infinitive (to do) or a participle (doing), its subject is implied to be the
subject of the clause, or sometimes the closest noun phrase. In such cases, construct your
sentences carefully to avoid suggesting nonsense. Consider the following two examples.

To dissect its brain, the affected fly was mounted on a . . .

After aging for 72 hours at 50°C, we observed a shift in . . .

Here, the first sentence implies that the affected fly dissected its own brain, and the
second implies that the authors of the paper needed to age for 72 hours at 50°C in order
to observe the shift. To restore the intended meaning while keeping the infinitive to
dissect or the participle aging, change the subject of each sentence as appropriate:

To dissect its brain, we mounted the affected fly on a . . .

After aging for 72 hours at 50°C, the samples exhibited a shift in . . .

Alternatively, you can change or remove the infinitive or participle to restore the
intended meaning:

To have its brain dissected, the affected fly was mounted on a . . .

After the samples aged for 72 hours at 50°C, we observed a shift in . . .

Mechanics

In communication, every detail counts. Although your focus should be on conveying your
message through an appropriate structure at all levels, you should also save some time to
attend to the more mechanical aspects of writing in English, such as using abbreviations,
writing numbers, capitalizing words, using hyphens when needed, and punctuating your
text correctly.

Using abbreviations

Beware of overusing abbreviations, especially acronyms — such as GNP for gold

nanoparticles. Abbreviations help keep a text concise, but they can also render it cryptic.
Many acronyms also have several possible extensions (GNP also stands for gross national
product).

Write acronyms (and only acronyms) in all uppercase (GNP, not gnp).

Introduce acronyms systematically the first time they are used in a document. First write
the full expression, then provide the acronym in parentheses. In the full expression, and
unless the journal to which you submit your paper uses a different convention, capitalize
the letters that form the acronym: "we prepared Gold Nano Particles (GNP) by . . . " These
capitals help readers quickly recognize what the acronym designates.

Notes:

• Do not use capitals in the full expression when you are not introducing an acronym:
"we prepared gold nanoparticles by… "

• As a more general rule, use first what readers know or can understand best, then
put in parentheses what may be new to them. If the acronym is better known than
the full expression, as may be the case for techniques such as SEM or projects such
as FALCON, consider placing the acronym first: "The FALCON (Fission-Activated
Laser Concept) program at…"
 • In the rare case that an acronym is commonly known, you might not need to
introduce it. One example is DNA in the life sciences. When in doubt, however,
introduce the acronym.

In papers, consider the abstract as a stand-alone document. Therefore, if you use an

acronym in both the abstract and the corresponding full paper, introduce that acronym
twice: the first time you use it in the abstract and the first time you use it in the full
paper. However, if you find that you use an acronym only once or twice after introducing
it in your abstract, the benefit of it is limited — consider avoiding the acronym and using
the full expression each time (unless you think some readers know the acronym better
than the full expression).

Writing numbers

In general, write single-digit numbers (zero to nine) in words, as in three hours, and
multidigit numbers (10 and above) in numerals, as in 24 hours. This rule has many
exceptions, but most of them are reasonably intuitive, as shown hereafter.

Use numerals for numbers from zero to nine

• when using them with abbreviated units (3 mV);

• in dates and times (3 October, 3 pm);
• to identify figures and other items (Figure 3);
• for consistency when these numbers are mixed with larger numbers (series of 3, 7,
and 24 experiments).

Use words for numbers above 10 if these numbers come at the beginning of a sentence or
heading ("Two thousand eight was a challenging year for . . . "). As an alternative,
rephrase the sentence to avoid this issue altogether ("The year 2008 was challenging for . .
. ").

Capitalizing words

Capitals are often overused. In English, use initial capitals

• at beginnings: the start of a sentence, of a heading, etc.;

• for proper nouns, including nouns describing groups (compare physics and the
Physics Department);
• for items identified by their number (compare in the next figure and in Figure 2),
unless the journal to which you submit your paper uses a different convention;
• for specific words: names of days (Monday) and months (April), adjectives of
nationality (Algerian), etc.

In contrast, do not use initial capitals for common nouns: Resist the temptation to glorify
a concept, technique, or compound with capitals. For example, write finite-element
method (not Finite-Element Method), mass spectrometry (not Mass Spectrometry), carbon
dioxide (not Carbon Dioxide), and so on, unless you are introducing an acronym
(see Mechanics: Using abbreviations).

Using hyphens

Use hyphens in English to clarify relationships in chains of words. Thus, low temperature
impact (without a hyphen) suggests a low impact of the temperature, whereas low-
temperature impact (with a hyphen) suggests the impact of or at low temperature. Such
hyphens, useful for (nouns used as) adjectives, are unnecessary for adverbs. For
example, a highly interesting paper does not need a hyphen; in this phrase, highly can
only qualify interesting (not paper).

In general, do not use a hyphen with a prefix, namely an element that is not a word in
itself and that is added at the beginning of a word to modify its meaning. Thus,
write multichannel, nonlinear, preamplifier, postdoctoral, realign, etc. As an exception
to this rule, use a hyphen to separate vowels that would otherwise be read together, as
in pre-embryo, or when the original word is written with a capital, as in pre-Columbian.

Punctuating text

Punctuation has many rules in English; here are three that are often a challenge for non-
native speakers.

As a rule, insert a comma between the subject of the main clause and whatever comes in
front of it, no matter how short, as in "Surprisingly, the temperature did not increase."
This comma is not always required, but it often helps and never hurts the meaning of a
sentence, so it is good practice.

In series of three or more items, separate items with commas (red, white, and
blue; yesterday, today, or tomorrow). Do not use a comma for a series of two items (black
and white).

In displayed lists, use the same punctuation as you would in normal text (but consider
dropping the and).

The system is fast, flexible, and reliable.

The system is

• fast,
• flexible,
• reliable.