apa style verb tense literature review

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The past tense or present perfect tense are appropriate when discussing a researcher’s work. Use the past or present perfect tenses in your in-text citations.

Berry (2022) and Gimmel et al. (2020) discovered that young people in foster care are at high risk for psychiatric disorders and poor long-term functional outcomes.

Wood (2018) and Winter (2008) used tribal critical race theory to explore the necessity and importance of letting Native people be the authority on their culture’s representation and allowing them to center their lived experiences and speak for themselves.

Present Perfect

Researchers have discovered that young people in foster care are at high risk for psychiatric disorders and poor long-term functional outcomes ( Berry, 2022; Gimmel et al., 2020) .

Other scholars have used tribal critical race theory to explore the necessity and importance of letting Native people be the authority on their culture’s representation and allowing them to center their lived experiences and speak for themselves (Wood, 2018; Writer, 2008).

Common Verbs (Reporting Verbs) Used in Academic Writing

Reporting verbs are used to convey what someone else has said or written. We use these in in-text citations to describe the ideas we are citing from authors’ works.

Tentative Reporting Verbs

Reporting Verb Handout

• Verb Tense & Reporting Verbs

The information on this page formatted as a handout that can be printed for convenient reference as you write.

Neutral Reporting Verbs

Strong Reporting Verbs

Adapted from American Psychological Association publication manual (7th ed.).

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Q. According to the APA Style (7th ed.) rules, which verb tense should I use in the different sections of my major research paper?

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Answered By: Theresa Bell (she/her/hers) Last Updated: Nov 04, 2021     Views: 4400

The 7th edition style manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) provides suggestions on which verb tense is appropriate for various sections of a thesis, major project or journal article:

• Past or present perfect tense: "Literature review (or whenever discussing other researchers' work)" (APA, 2020, p. 118), "method" (APA, 2020, 118), and "description of procedure" (APA, 2020, 118)
• Past tense: "Reporting of results" (APA, 2020, p. 118)
• Present tense: "Discussion of implications of results" (APA, 2020, p. 118) and "presentation of conclusions, limitations, future directions, and so forth" (APA, 2020, p. 118).

As much as possible, try to be consistent with your chosen verb tense within a section "to ensure smooth expression" (APA, 2020, p. 118). If the verb tenses suggested above don't make sense for the purposes of your document, please check with your instructor or academic supervisor to get their recommendation on the best approach for your document.

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association  (7th ed.).  https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

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Answered By: Linda Kern Last Updated: Dec 12, 2016     Views: 135217

The APA manual discusses tense in the section on Smoothness of Expression on Page 65. 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. The results section of the paper should also be in past tense, and implications of the results and conclusions in present tense.

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APA Citation Style Tutorial: Materials for Quiz 1B

• Materials for Quiz 1A
• Materials for Quiz 1B
• Assessments

To be covered

• Verb tenses
• Subject and verb agreement
• Paraphrasing/In-text citations
• Run-on sentences
• Active vs passive voice
• Sentence Fragments

Content for Quiz 1B

Paraphrasing

• In-text citations

Verb Tenses

Table 4.1 Recommended Verb Tenses in APA Style Papers

*Remember, consistency in your verb tenses is key!*

Source: American Psychological Association (2020).  Publication manual of the American Psychological Association: the official guide to APA style  (7th ed): American Psychological Association.

Definition: Run-on sentences, also known as fused sentences, occur when two complete sentences are squashed together without using a coordinating conjunction or proper punctuation, such as a period or a semicolon. Run-on sentences can be short or long. A long sentence is not necessarily a run-on sentence (Joki, 2015). 

Source: Joki, K. (2015). Run-on Sentences. https://www.grammarly.com/blog/run-on-sentence-basics/

Fragments are incomplete sentences. Usually, fragments are pieces of sentences that have become disconnected from the main clause. One of the easiest ways to correct them is to remove the period between the fragment and the main clause. Other kinds of punctuation may be needed for the newly combined sentence. Some fragments are not clearly pieces of sentences that have been left unattached to the main clause; they are written as main clauses but lack a subject or main verb (Purdue Owl, n.d.).

Source: Purdue Owl (n.d.) "Sentence Fragments" https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/mechanics/sentence_fragments.html

4.13 Active and Passive Voice

Definition and Examples

Use and Examples

A paraphrase restates another’s idea (or your own previously published idea) in your own words. Paraphrasing allows you to summarize and synthesize information from one or more sources, focus on significant information, and compare and contrast relevant details.

Published authors paraphrase their sources most of the time, rather than directly quoting the sources; student authors should emulate this practice by paraphrasing more than directly quoting.

When you paraphrase, cite the original work using either the  narrative or parenthetical citation format .

Long Paraphrase

A paraphrase may continue for several sentences. In such cases, cite the work being paraphrased on first mention. Once the work has been cited, it is not necessary to repeat the citation as long as the context of the writing makes it clear that the same work continues to be paraphrased.

If the paraphrase continues into a new paragraph, reintroduce the citation. If the paraphrase incorporates multiple sources or switches among sources, repeat the citation so the source is clear. Read your sentences carefully to ensure you have cited sources appropriately.

Source: American Psychological Association (n.d.)  Paraphrasing  https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/citations/paraphrasing

8.10 Author-Date Citation System

• This appears in the body and briefly identifies the cited work by its author and date of publication
• Do not include suffixes, such as "Junior". If there is no author, use the source's title in its place
• If there is no year, use "n.d." in its place. If it is accepted for publication but has not yet been published, write "in press"
• This includes the author, date, title, and source of the work, enabling readers to identify and retrieve the work

8.11 Parenthetical and Narrative Citations

Parenthetical citation

• Falsely balanced news coverage can distort the public's perception of expert-consensus on an isue (Koehler, 2016).
• (see Koehler, 2016, for more detail)
• (e.g., falsely balanced news coverage; Koehler, 2016)

Narrative Citation

• Koehler (2016) noted the dangers of falsely balanced news coverage
• In 2016, Koehler noted the dangers of falsely balanced news coverage
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Use of verb tenses in APA, Chicago and MLA styles

APA, Chicago and MLA are the three main referencing systems/writing styles used at Massey. Re commendations they make in relation to verb tenses are summarized below. Implementing these recommendations may be especially important if you are planning to publish work in a journal that requires certain style guidelines to be followed. However, for assignments or theses at Massey, it is important to be guided by any advice your lecturer or supervisor may provide in relation to use of tenses.  

Referring to the ideas of other researchers (e.g. in a literature review)

Simple past tense

• Brown (2019) argued that… However, Small (2020) suggested that…

Present perfect tense

• Doñoso (1992) has demonstrated that…

Note : A shift of tense may be used to indicate that the research findings are still relevant.

• Molland (2018) discovered that educational outcomes improve when….

Describing a method or procedure

• The participants were interviewed…
• Other researchers have followed a similar procedure.

Reporting results (your own or those of others)

• The results supported the hypothesis

Personal reactions

Simple present tense

• I believe …
• I sensed a need for…
• I have encountered challenges…

Commenting on the implications of results or findings

• The findings indicate that…

Presenting limitations

• The limitations of this case study are …

Conclusions

• We can conclude that…

Suggesting future directions

• This is an area for future research

Chicago and MLA

Both Chicago and MLA recommend the use of the simple present tense (e.g. ‘argues’) or present perfect tense (e.g. ‘has argued’) in the following situations:

No matter how long ago the work was published, the present tense is used, and even a deceased author ‘argues’ or ‘claims’.

• Vasquez and Lopez argue that…
• Bailey has outlined …

Discussing the actions of characters in literature

• In Episode 4 of James Joyce’s Ulysses , Leopold Bloom walks to the butchers and buys a pork kidney

Narrating a fictional work’s plot

• The plot of Ulysses centres on the wanderings and encounters of Leopold Bloom in Dublin, Ireland, over the course of a single day (16 June 1904)

Discussing a literary work, author or theme.

• James Joyce structures Ulysses around 18 episodes that loosely mirror episodes in Homer's Odyssey
• The themes of Ulysses include compassion and remorse

Note : If the context is clearly historical (rather than textual), use of the past tense is acceptable.

• Ulysses was published on 2 February 1922, James Joyce’s 40th birthday.

These pages are provided as a guide to proper referencing. Your course, department, school, or institute may prescribe specific conventions, and their recommendations supersede these instructions. If you have questions not covered here, check in the style guide listed above, ask your course coordinator, or ask at Academic Q+A .

Page authorised by Director - Centre for Learner Success Last updated on 17 November, 2020

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Mastering Verb Tenses in Literature Reviews

In this blog, we will see what tense you should use in the literature review section of your research paper. We will look at some examples of literature review excerpts from published research papers and understand the tenses used in them.

1. Which Tense to Use?

You may have to use multiple tenses in your literature review depending on what you are saying. The present tense is generally used in statements to introduce the literature review, and the past tense is typically used when you are talking about specific papers. The following table summarizes different types of statements you might typically include in your literature review and the corresponding tenses you should use.

2. Usage Example #1

In the first statement, we make a general statement about the topic by saying that this topic has been studied extensively in the literature, and therefore we have used the present tense. In the second sentence, we say that although there has been a lot of research on this topic, it is still relevant today and therefore we have used the present perfect tense.

✔ Example of simple present & present perfect tense use This is widely reported and extensively explored in the literature. This has been of interest for a considerable period, ranging from the early 90s. _   Broad summary (Simple Present) _   Ongoing situation (Present Perfect)

3. Usage Example #2

In the first statement, we begin the literature review by saying that there are many techniques available in the literature to combat weight gain. This statement is only a general summary of previous research on this topic. So we used the present perfect tense. Then, when we then talk about individual works from the literature, we present their results in the past tense.

✔ Example of present perfect & past tense use A number of solutions have been proposed to deal with the problem of weight gain and obesity. He simplest approach was proposed by Lee et al. (2003) which involves fasting. Wang et al. (2010) proposed an alternative solution of using an intragastric balloon. _   Broad summary (Present Perfect) _   Specific papers from past (Past Tense)

4. Usage Example #3

In the following example, in the first sentence we are talking about a collective finding that is generally accepted in the field, and therefore we have used the present perfect tense. In the second statement, we are talking about a finding from a specific work conducted in the past and have therefore used the past tense.

✔ Example of present perfect & past tense use It has been shown that there is a direct correlation between social media and children’s mental health[1-10]. Recently, Elan et al. [11] showed that these findings also applies to teenagers and older population. _   Accepted findings (Present Perfect) _   Specific paper from past (Past Tense)

5. Usage Example #4

In the example below, we talk about past research papers and that’s why we have used the past tense.

✔ Example of past tense use In the initial work presented by Kim et al. (2004), they showed that there is a direct link between Vitamin C and obesity. Smith et al. (2006) replicated this finding in a much larger study. Recently, it was pointed out by Young et al. (2010) that Vitamin C is also related to many other diseases. _   Specific papers from past (Past Tense)

If you have any questions, please drop a comment below, and we will answer as soon as possible. We also recommend you to refer to our other blogs on  academic writing tools ,   academic writing resources ,  academic writing phrases and research paper examples which are relevant to the topic discussed in this blog. 

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Parts of speech

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Avoiding incorrect shifts in verb tense

Verb tense in signal phrases and to describe action, get help from the writing centre.

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You will use many different tenses within your writing and shifts between tense are fine, as long as they accurately represent the action described by the passage. Where learners sometimes encounter difficulties is when they mix verb tenses within a sentence or description.

For example, "the tide is high and it flooded the road". 

• "is" indicates simple present tense; "flooded" indicates simple past tense. Choose the correct tense and use that tense throughout the sentence: the tide was high and it flooded the road.

For more information, examples, and self-test exercises, please refer to  The OWL at Purdue: Verb Tense Consistency .

Deciding the appropriate verb tense usually comes down to using the one that best reflects the time period of the action described in the text.

Signal Phrases

The choice of using present or past tense in  signal phrases  for paraphrases or quotations largely depends on the discipline in which authors are writing or the style guide they’re following.

• Present tense: Lee (2015) argues that…
• Past tense: Lee (2015) argued that…

According to APA Style, "the past tense is appropriate when expressing an action or a condition that occurred at a specific, definite time in the past, such as when discussing another researcher's work" (American Psychological Association [APA], 2020, p. 118). When expressing "a past action or condition that did not occur at a specific, definite time or to describe an action beginning in the past and continuing to the present", use the present perfect tense (e.g, Lee (2015) has used...).

Using the past tense to refer to other researcher's work reflects that the quotation or paraphrase presents the author’s thinking at the time of writing the text, which happened in the past. The published text may not reflect the author’s current thinking, so putting the signal phrase in present tense makes a claim that can’t be investigated within the source material. If you’re unsure of which tense to use in signal phrases, please check with your instructor, supervisor, or journal editor.

Describe Action in Text

The APA Style manual provides suggestions on which verb tense is appropriate for various sections of a thesis, major project or journal article:

• Past or present perfect tense: "Literature review (or whenever discussing other researchers' work)" (APA, 2020, p. 118), "method" (APA, 2020, 118), and "description of procedure" (APA, 2020, 118)
• Past tense: "Reporting of results" (APA, 2020, p. 118)
• Present tense: "Discussion of implications of results" (APA, 2020, p. 118) and "presentation of conclusions, limitations, future directions, and so forth" (APA, 2020, p. 118).

As much as possible, try to be consistent with your chosen verb tense within a section "to ensure smooth expression" (APA, 2020, p. 118). If the verb tenses suggested above don't make sense for the purposes of your document, please check with your instructor or academic supervisor to get their opinion on the best approach for your document.

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association  (7th ed.).  https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

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Sample Papers

This page contains sample papers formatted in seventh edition APA Style. The sample papers show the format that authors should use to submit a manuscript for publication in a professional journal and that students should use to submit a paper to an instructor for a course assignment. You can download the Word files to use as templates and edit them as needed for the purposes of your own papers.

Most guidelines in the Publication Manual apply to both professional manuscripts and student papers. However, there are specific guidelines for professional papers versus student papers, including professional and student title page formats. All authors should check with the person or entity to whom they are submitting their paper (e.g., publisher or instructor) for guidelines that are different from or in addition to those specified by APA Style.

Sample papers from the Publication Manual

The following two sample papers were published in annotated form in the Publication Manual and are reproduced here as PDFs for your ease of use. The annotations draw attention to content and formatting and provide the relevant sections of the Publication Manual (7th ed.) to consult for more information.

• Student sample paper with annotations (PDF, 5MB)
• Professional sample paper with annotations (PDF, 2.7MB)

We also offer these sample papers in Microsoft Word (.docx) format with the annotations as comments to the text.

• Student sample paper with annotations as comments (DOCX, 42KB)
• Professional sample paper with annotations as comments (DOCX, 103KB)

Finally, we offer these sample papers in Microsoft Word (.docx) format without the annotations.

• Student sample paper without annotations (DOCX, 36KB)
• Professional sample paper without annotations (DOCX, 96KB)

Sample professional paper templates by paper type

These sample papers demonstrate APA Style formatting standards for different professional paper types. Professional papers can contain many different elements depending on the nature of the work. Authors seeking publication should refer to the journal’s instructions for authors or manuscript submission guidelines for specific requirements and/or sections to include.

• Literature review professional paper template (DOCX, 47KB)
• Mixed methods professional paper template (DOCX, 68KB)
• Qualitative professional paper template (DOCX, 72KB)
• Quantitative professional paper template (DOCX, 77KB)
• Review professional paper template (DOCX, 112KB)

Sample papers are covered in the seventh edition APA Style manuals in the Publication Manual Chapter 2 and the Concise Guide Chapter 1

Related handouts

• Heading Levels Template: Student Paper (PDF, 257KB)
• Heading Levels Template: Professional Paper (PDF, 213KB)

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Sample student paper templates by paper type

These sample papers demonstrate APA Style formatting standards for different student paper types. Students may write the same types of papers as professional authors (e.g., quantitative studies, literature reviews) or other types of papers for course assignments (e.g., reaction or response papers, discussion posts), dissertations, and theses.

APA does not set formal requirements for the nature or contents of an APA Style student paper. Students should follow the guidelines and requirements of their instructor, department, and/or institution when writing papers. For instance, an abstract and keywords are not required for APA Style student papers, although an instructor may request them in student papers that are longer or more complex. Specific questions about a paper being written for a course assignment should be directed to the instructor or institution assigning the paper.

• Discussion post student paper template (DOCX, 31KB)
• Literature review student paper template (DOCX, 37KB)
• Quantitative study student paper template (DOCX, 53KB)

Sample papers in real life

Although published articles differ in format from manuscripts submitted for publication or student papers (e.g., different line spacing, font, margins, and column format), articles published in APA journals provide excellent demonstrations of APA Style in action.

APA journals began publishing papers in seventh edition APA Style in 2020. Professional authors should check the author submission guidelines for the journal to which they want to submit their paper for any journal-specific style requirements.

Credits for sample professional paper templates

Quantitative professional paper template: Adapted from “Fake News, Fast and Slow: Deliberation Reduces Belief in False (but Not True) News Headlines,” by B. Bago, D. G. Rand, and G. Pennycook, 2020, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General , 149 (8), pp. 1608–1613 ( https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000729 ). Copyright 2020 by the American Psychological Association.

Qualitative professional paper template: Adapted from “‘My Smartphone Is an Extension of Myself’: A Holistic Qualitative Exploration of the Impact of Using a Smartphone,” by L. J. Harkin and D. Kuss, 2020, Psychology of Popular Media , 10 (1), pp. 28–38 ( https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000278 ). Copyright 2020 by the American Psychological Association.

Mixed methods professional paper template: Adapted from “‘I Am a Change Agent’: A Mixed Methods Analysis of Students’ Social Justice Value Orientation in an Undergraduate Community Psychology Course,” by D. X. Henderson, A. T. Majors, and M. Wright, 2019,  Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology , 7 (1), 68–80. ( https://doi.org/10.1037/stl0000171 ). Copyright 2019 by the American Psychological Association.

Literature review professional paper template: Adapted from “Rethinking Emotions in the Context of Infants’ Prosocial Behavior: The Role of Interest and Positive Emotions,” by S. I. Hammond and J. K. Drummond, 2019, Developmental Psychology , 55 (9), pp. 1882–1888 ( https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000685 ). Copyright 2019 by the American Psychological Association.

Review professional paper template: Adapted from “Joining the Conversation: Teaching Students to Think and Communicate Like Scholars,” by E. L. Parks, 2022, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology , 8 (1), pp. 70–78 ( https://doi.org/10.1037/stl0000193 ). Copyright 2020 by the American Psychological Association.

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• APA Style Refresh: Choosing the Right Verb Tense

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Citation, Documentation of Sources

Q. Dear Chicago, what verb tense do you recommend for the literature review section of a scholarly article? APA insists on the past tense, arguing that any work included in a literature review was obviously published in the past. People writing about English literature, on the other hand, discuss works in the present tense because readers always experience the book in the present. I’m editing a Canadian public policy journal, and the author uses the present tense to discuss works published ten or fifteen years ago. Should I change these tenses to the present perfect? The journal has no in-house rule on this.

A. Since the use of the present tense in literature reviews is widely accepted, and since any decision about where to cut off “past” from “present” literature would have to be arbitrary, using the present tense for everything is a fine option. You shouldn’t worry about using it if a journal doesn’t express a preference.

[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]

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Tense tendencies in academic texts

Published on September 30, 2014 by Shane Bryson . Revised on August 9, 2024.

Different sections of academic papers ( theses , dissertations and essays ) tend to use different tenses . The following is a breakdown of these tendencies by section. Please note that while it is useful to keep these tendencies in mind, there may be exceptions. The breakdown below should help guide your writing, but keep in mind that you may have to shift tenses in any given section, depending on your topic matter.

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Table of contents

Abstract or summary, introduction, theoretical framework, literature review, methods and results, conclusions or discussion, limitations, recommendations and implications, other interesting articles, present simple: for facts and general truisms; to say what the paper does.

This thesis examines the ways that ecological poetry relates to political activism.

Our research suggests better economic policies.

Present perfect: for past events or research still relevant to the present

Thinkers have examined how ecological poetry relates to political activism.

Other economists have suggested different economic policies.

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Present simple: to say what the paper does and why it is important

This research is relevant to how we understand the role of poetry.

Effective economic policies help societies to prosper.

Past simple: to provide historical background

In his time, Thoreau concerned himself with living in harmony with nature.

Ronald Reagan’s policies changed America’s political landscape.  

Present simple: to describe theories and provide definitions

In lyric poetry, the speaker presents his perspective on a given situation.

“Reaganomics” refers to the economic policies of Reagan administration.

Present perfect: for past research still relevant to the paper’s current research

Past simple: to describe specific steps or actions of past researchers, past simple: for events that began and ended in the past, such as an experiment.

We conducted semi-structured interviews with the participants.

We found that participants had much to say about their workplaces.

A multivariate linear regression was used.

Present simple: to describe a tool’s function (which does not change over time)

Multivariate linear regressions are  relevant to use for sets of correlated random variables.

Present simple: for interpretations of data

The results indicate a steady increase in net gain for x and y companies.

We cannot conclude that this growth will continue on the basis of this study.

Past simple: for details about how the study happened

The sample size was adequate for a qualitative analysis, but it was not big enough to provide good grounds for predictions.

Modal auxiliary to indicate lack of a certain outcome or simple future with hedging word: for thoughts on what future studies might focus on, and for careful predictions

Modal auxiliary : Responses to the survey suggest that many more people in this profession may be unsatisfied with their vacation time.

Modal auxiliary : Future research should conduct more sustained investigations of this phenomenon.

Simple future with hedging word : The results of the study indicate that the glaciers will likely continue to melt.

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Overview of verb tenses and APA recommendations for tense usage in academic writing

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To help you understand active and passive voice use, watch this video below by lund university:.

American Psychological Association. (2010).  Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association  (6th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Azar, B. S.; & Hagen, S. A. (2009). Understanding and Using English Grammar (4th ed.). Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall Regents.

English verbs have:

• Two voices: active and passive.
• Three moods: indicative, subjunctive, imperative.
• Two tenses and one time (in the indicative mood): past and present (tenses), future (time).
• Four aspects (in the indicative mood): simple, progressive, perfect, perfect progressive. 

A few examples were created by us   at Ontario Tech University.

Active and passive voice

We   chose   a semi-structured approach (active).

was chosen   (passive).  

Most of the time we use the active voice in speaking. APA recommends that we use the active voice in academic writing as much as possible.

The passive is most frequently used when it is not important to know exactly who performs an action or when the speaker or writer wants to focus attention “on the recipient of the action rather than on the actor” (p. 77). 

Indicative, subjunctive, and imperative mood

 to provide   guidance for the researcher conducting case studies (indicative).

Be   mindful of APA formatting , style and usage issues! (imperative)

be interpreted   properly (subjunctive).

Most of the time,   in both speaking and writing, we use the   indicative   mood. For example, to ask questions and make factual statements.

When we want to express commands and requests, however, we use the imperative mood.

)   and in the verb to be (which remains ‘be’ in the present for all persons and becomes ‘were’ in the past for all persons).

Past, present, and future in the indicative mood

Evaluation feedback  identified   a need for a more condensed checklist for readers and reviewers (past).

constitutes   a case study   varies   (present).

A case study  will  never   provide   conclusions with statistical significance (future).

Simple, progressive, perfect, and perfect progressive aspects in the indicative mood

methodology   for software engineering research   (simple).

The acceptance of empirical studies in software engineering and their contributions to increasing knowledge   is  continuously  growing  (progressive).

We  have found  interviews, observations, archival data and metrics being applicable to software engineering case studies   (perfect).

For the past few years, researchers  have been investigating  the effectiveness of the use of case studies in engineering (perfect progressive).

There are twelve combinations of tenses and aspects in the indicative mood:

• The simple present:   Researchers  investigate  the effectiveness of the use of case studies in engineering.
• The simple past:   Researchers  investigated  the effectiveness of the use of case studies in engineering.
• The simple future:   Researchers  will investigate  the effectiveness of the use of case studies in engineering.
• The present progressive:   Researchers  are investigating  the effectiveness of the use of case studies in engineering.
• The past progressive:   researchers  were investigating  the effectiveness of the use of case studies in engineering.
• The present perfect:   Researchers  have investigated  the effectiveness of the use of case studies in engineering.
• The past perfect:   Researchers  had investigated  the effectiveness of the use of case studies in engineering.
• The future perfect:   Researchers  will have investigated  the effectiveness of the use of case studies in engineering.
• The present perfect progressive:   Researchers  have been investigating  the effectiveness of the use of case studies in engineering.
• The past perfect progressive:   Researchers  had been investigating  the effectiveness of the use of case studies in engineering.
• The future perfect progressive:   Researchers  will have been investigating  the effectiveness of the use of case studies in engineering.

The most commonly used verb tenses in academic writing, however, are the   simple present, simple past, present perfect, and simple future tenses .

APA (2010) says that, in an academic paper:

• The simple past tense is appropriate to describe the results (p. 66).
• The simple present tense is appropriate to discuss implications of the results and to present the conclusions (p. 66).

Note: For more information on verb tenses, see the overview of   past tenses ,   present tenses , and   future times   pages.

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Video Transcripts: APA Formatting & Style: Verb Tense

• Academic Paragraphs: Examples of the MEAL Plan
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APA Formatting & Style: Verb Tense

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• Plagiarism Detection & Revision Skills: Plagiarism Examples: Insufficient Citation Frequency
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• Plagiarism Detection & Revision Skills: Types of Plagiarism: Overt Plagiarism
• Plagiarism Detection & Revision Skills: Types of Plagiarism: Passive Plagiarism
• Plagiarism Detection & Revision Skills: Types of Plagiarism: Self-Plagiarism
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Last updated 5/6/2020

Visual: Screen opens to a background image with a person typing on a laptop and a notebook and pencil, along with the Walden University Writing Center logo. The title Walden University Writing Center and tagline “Your writing, grammar, and APA experts” appears on the screen. The screen changes to show the series title “Formatting & Style” and the video title “Verb Tense.”

Audio: Guitar music

Visual: A slide appears with the following: Verb Tense

Use past tense to discuss what an author said or did

     Brown (2012) distributed the surveys by email.

     The CDC (2010) reported that 25% of Americans do not have access to health care.

Audio:  When you’re writing in APA style, you will use the past tense to discuss what the author of a source said or did. This is a rule that may be different from other writing styles you may have used in the past, but in APA, we always use past tense to communicate actions from a source. This is because in the social sciences, research is often being updated, and so the emphasis is on recognizing that this research was done at a certain point in time, in the past.

Let’s review this in our examples: We have here, “Brown, 2012, distributed the surveys by email” and “The CDC, 2020, reported that 25% of Americans do not have access to health care.” In both of these cases, we have used the past tense with “distributed” and “reported.”

Visual: Slide changes to the following:

Prefer the active voice instead of passive voice

• Active Voice : Brown (2012) distributed the surveys by email.
• The surveys were distributed by Brown (2012) by email.
• The surveys were distributed by email.

Audio: Additional guidance APA provides around verb tense relates to voice , which is the relationship between a verb and the subject and object in a sentence. Specifically, APA recommends that writers prefer active voice over passive voice, when appropriate.

Active voice is when the subject of a sentence is presented first, immediately before the verb, and in so doing, the “doer” of an action in the sentence is clear. Active voice is often much more direct, clear, and concise, and so APA recommends writers use active voice as much as possible. In our example of active voice, “Brown, 2012, distributed the surveys by email,” it is clear that Brown completed this action.

Passive voice is also permissible in APA, but can lead to a lack of clarity in your writing. Because of this, APA cautions writers to avoid overuse of passive voice. There may be cases where passive voice helps avoid repetition or doesn’t impede clarity, and in those cases, passive voice could be appropriate. In our examples, who distributed the surveys either isn’t stated or is stated after the verb, causing potential confusion and wordiness.

To summarize, prefer active voice in your writing, although passive voice can be used in certain situations as long as you avoid overusing passive voice.  

Visual: The screen changes to an ending slide with a person typing on a laptop and a notebook and pencil, along with the Walden University Writing Center logo. The email address [email protected] appears on the screen.

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