Report established knowledge in the present tense but new, previously unpublished findings (including your own results) in the past tense.

Rules for Applying the Appropriate Tense

In a typical scientific paper, correct use of these rules will inevitably result in switching of tenses, sometimes within the same section. Many writers wrongly assume that the same tense, e.g., the present tense or past tense, should be applied to the entire manuscript or report. With the distinction between established and new findings in mind, this is clearly not possible, nor would it be correct.

Choosing the correct tense is hardest in the Discussion section. Here, we may emphasize the relationship of our work to previously established knowledge, using attribution to other workers and referring to reported findings. Moreover, we may express a personal opinion, which should be in the present tense (e.g., “We feel that these findings indicate…”; “It is our opinion…”; “We emphasize that…”). Occasionally, there may be a need to announce further actions (e.g., “We plan to investigate this phenomenon in a larger study…”). As a general rule, future work should be mentioned with caution because so many planned (and promised) experiments and studies never actually get off the ground.

The table shows the tenses predominantly used in the various sections of a paper or report. Clearly, there may be a switch from the present to the past, and vice versa, even within individual sections of a paper.

Tenses Typically Occurring in a Paper or Report

Nonparallel Verbs

The Two Types of Conjunctions

Let us consider some nonparallel statements typically occurring in scientific or medical reporting:

This sentence implies that “data” were recruited and monitored, when, in fact, it was the patients who were recruited and the trial that was monitored. The sentence should be reworded to make this clear:

Another source of nonparallel statements is the change of verb number within the sentence:

Here, the second verb should be “were,” but this was simply skipped. The second verb can only be omitted if the verb number (i.e., singular or plural) is the same.

Lecture 4

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