Tenses: Body

The body of academic writing features two prominent tenses:

• Present Simple
• Past Simple

This is because the main communicative functions that are regularly performed in individual body paragraphs align with these tenses. Please see the table below:

Present Simple

1. Putting Forward an Argument

Example: "It is here contended that Macpherson’s account of human nature (creative individualism) provides a basis for a theory of internal impediments. I argue additionally that creative individualism remains resilient to many of the classic objections faced by such theories."

2. Making a Generalisation from the Results

Example: "These results indicate that it makes little difference whether a specimen is kept in air or under microscope vacuum conditions. "

Past Simple

3. Making an Observation or Finding

Example: "It was found that the carbon film of the sample above contained carbon, oxygen, silicon, gold, and copper."

4. Describing a Method Used

Example: "This analysis was performed according to the method described in Chapter 2. Wafers F and G were used instead of actual devices to minimise the detrimental effect of contamination. "

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