One’s tense will vary depending on what one is trying to convey within their paper or section of their paper. For example, the tense may change between the methods section and the discussion section.

The past tense is used for examples disclosing experiments that have been performed as described. In contrast, 'prophetic' or 'paper' examples are written in the present or future tense.

Learn more about how to use the present tense in practice with this KS3 English guide.

In your scientific paper, use verb tenses (past, present, and future) exactly as you would in ordinary writing. Use the past tense to report what happened in the past: what you did, what someone ...

Learn more about how to use the present tense in practice with this KS3 English guide.