Asked by: Julian Lawlet

What tense should be used in documentation?

present simple tense

Use the present simple tense
Users read documentation to perform tasks or gather information. For users, these activities take place in their present, so the present tense is appropriate in most cases.

What tense is used for giving instructions?

The present tense is used there in place of imperatives, to give instructions to the candidates on how to complete the test paper. The intention is presumably that the candidates read the instructions and follow them straightaway: they don’t do the test later, at some point in the future.

Can we use present tense in report writing?

Yes. You should write your report in the present tense when you want to express something that will continue to be true.

Can you use present tense in APA?

APA Style Guidelines on Verb Tense

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…).

Is APA supposed to be present tense?

The use of present tense in APA Style is often appropriate for first-person expressions of your own idea (“In this paper, I argue…”) or phrases describing a current event, rather than introductions to paraphrased or quoted text.

Is APA format in present or past tense?

The lit review of an APA style paper should be in past tense (The researchers found…) or present perfect (The researchers have shown…). The methodology should be in past tense if it has already happened.

What tense is used in academic writing?

The present simple is the most commonly used tense in academic writing, so if in doubt, this should be your default choice of tense. There are two main situations where you always need to use the present tense.

Are research papers written in past tense?

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.