Resource of the Week #74: A Resource on Choosing Verb Tenses

Hello again. Our current Resource of the Week was suggested by graduate student Michelle Yeoman.

This resource is a 2-page handout titled “Using Tenses in Scientific Writing”. It is from the Academic Skills Unit at the University of Melbourne, in Australia.

This handout gives guidance on which verb tense, or verb tenses, to use in each part of a scientific paper or other research report. It also notes that present tense should be used to refer to tables and figures (example: “Figure 1 shows . . . ”).

One strength of this handout is the inclusion of many examples. Every main point is illustrated by 1 or more examples. The examples come from a variety of research fields.

Because the handout is short, it can provide only overall guidelines. Thus, it generally does not note exceptions or discuss points in detail. However, it does provide very helpful advice.

Thank you, Michelle, for suggesting this resource.

Readers: Do you have a resource to suggest? If so, please do so by posting a comment or by contacting me through the AuthorAID website. Maybe the resource that you suggest will be a Resource of the Week.

Until the next post—

Barbara