College Composition / Unit 4 CMP 0091 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Tense in Academic Writing
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The idea
Disciplines prefer different tenses in signal phrases, the verbs that introduce a source.
In practice
English and the humanities generally use the present or present perfect, "the historian argues"; the sciences and social sciences generally use the past or present perfect, "the study found."
Where people slip
Follow your discipline's convention, and stay consistent within the paper.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
Builds on
Unlocks
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