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Ten Simple Rules for Writing a Literature Review

Marco pautasso.

1 Centre for Functional and Evolutionary Ecology (CEFE), CNRS, Montpellier, France

2 Centre for Biodiversity Synthesis and Analysis (CESAB), FRB, Aix-en-Provence, France

Literature reviews are in great demand in most scientific fields. Their need stems from the ever-increasing output of scientific publications [1] . For example, compared to 1991, in 2008 three, eight, and forty times more papers were indexed in Web of Science on malaria, obesity, and biodiversity, respectively [2] . Given such mountains of papers, scientists cannot be expected to examine in detail every single new paper relevant to their interests [3] . Thus, it is both advantageous and necessary to rely on regular summaries of the recent literature. Although recognition for scientists mainly comes from primary research, timely literature reviews can lead to new synthetic insights and are often widely read [4] . For such summaries to be useful, however, they need to be compiled in a professional way [5] .

When starting from scratch, reviewing the literature can require a titanic amount of work. That is why researchers who have spent their career working on a certain research issue are in a perfect position to review that literature. Some graduate schools are now offering courses in reviewing the literature, given that most research students start their project by producing an overview of what has already been done on their research issue [6] . However, it is likely that most scientists have not thought in detail about how to approach and carry out a literature review.

Reviewing the literature requires the ability to juggle multiple tasks, from finding and evaluating relevant material to synthesising information from various sources, from critical thinking to paraphrasing, evaluating, and citation skills [7] . In this contribution, I share ten simple rules I learned working on about 25 literature reviews as a PhD and postdoctoral student. Ideas and insights also come from discussions with coauthors and colleagues, as well as feedback from reviewers and editors.

Rule 1: Define a Topic and Audience

How to choose which topic to review? There are so many issues in contemporary science that you could spend a lifetime of attending conferences and reading the literature just pondering what to review. On the one hand, if you take several years to choose, several other people may have had the same idea in the meantime. On the other hand, only a well-considered topic is likely to lead to a brilliant literature review [8] . The topic must at least be:

• interesting to you (ideally, you should have come across a series of recent papers related to your line of work that call for a critical summary),
• an important aspect of the field (so that many readers will be interested in the review and there will be enough material to write it), and
• a well-defined issue (otherwise you could potentially include thousands of publications, which would make the review unhelpful).

Ideas for potential reviews may come from papers providing lists of key research questions to be answered [9] , but also from serendipitous moments during desultory reading and discussions. In addition to choosing your topic, you should also select a target audience. In many cases, the topic (e.g., web services in computational biology) will automatically define an audience (e.g., computational biologists), but that same topic may also be of interest to neighbouring fields (e.g., computer science, biology, etc.).

Rule 2: Search and Re-search the Literature

After having chosen your topic and audience, start by checking the literature and downloading relevant papers. Five pieces of advice here:

• keep track of the search items you use (so that your search can be replicated [10] ),
• keep a list of papers whose pdfs you cannot access immediately (so as to retrieve them later with alternative strategies),
• use a paper management system (e.g., Mendeley, Papers, Qiqqa, Sente),
• define early in the process some criteria for exclusion of irrelevant papers (these criteria can then be described in the review to help define its scope), and
• do not just look for research papers in the area you wish to review, but also seek previous reviews.

The chances are high that someone will already have published a literature review ( Figure 1 ), if not exactly on the issue you are planning to tackle, at least on a related topic. If there are already a few or several reviews of the literature on your issue, my advice is not to give up, but to carry on with your own literature review,

The bottom-right situation (many literature reviews but few research papers) is not just a theoretical situation; it applies, for example, to the study of the impacts of climate change on plant diseases, where there appear to be more literature reviews than research studies [33] .

• discussing in your review the approaches, limitations, and conclusions of past reviews,
• trying to find a new angle that has not been covered adequately in the previous reviews, and
• incorporating new material that has inevitably accumulated since their appearance.

When searching the literature for pertinent papers and reviews, the usual rules apply:

• be thorough,
• use different keywords and database sources (e.g., DBLP, Google Scholar, ISI Proceedings, JSTOR Search, Medline, Scopus, Web of Science), and
• look at who has cited past relevant papers and book chapters.

Rule 3: Take Notes While Reading

If you read the papers first, and only afterwards start writing the review, you will need a very good memory to remember who wrote what, and what your impressions and associations were while reading each single paper. My advice is, while reading, to start writing down interesting pieces of information, insights about how to organize the review, and thoughts on what to write. This way, by the time you have read the literature you selected, you will already have a rough draft of the review.

Of course, this draft will still need much rewriting, restructuring, and rethinking to obtain a text with a coherent argument [11] , but you will have avoided the danger posed by staring at a blank document. Be careful when taking notes to use quotation marks if you are provisionally copying verbatim from the literature. It is advisable then to reformulate such quotes with your own words in the final draft. It is important to be careful in noting the references already at this stage, so as to avoid misattributions. Using referencing software from the very beginning of your endeavour will save you time.

Rule 4: Choose the Type of Review You Wish to Write

After having taken notes while reading the literature, you will have a rough idea of the amount of material available for the review. This is probably a good time to decide whether to go for a mini- or a full review. Some journals are now favouring the publication of rather short reviews focusing on the last few years, with a limit on the number of words and citations. A mini-review is not necessarily a minor review: it may well attract more attention from busy readers, although it will inevitably simplify some issues and leave out some relevant material due to space limitations. A full review will have the advantage of more freedom to cover in detail the complexities of a particular scientific development, but may then be left in the pile of the very important papers “to be read” by readers with little time to spare for major monographs.

There is probably a continuum between mini- and full reviews. The same point applies to the dichotomy of descriptive vs. integrative reviews. While descriptive reviews focus on the methodology, findings, and interpretation of each reviewed study, integrative reviews attempt to find common ideas and concepts from the reviewed material [12] . A similar distinction exists between narrative and systematic reviews: while narrative reviews are qualitative, systematic reviews attempt to test a hypothesis based on the published evidence, which is gathered using a predefined protocol to reduce bias [13] , [14] . When systematic reviews analyse quantitative results in a quantitative way, they become meta-analyses. The choice between different review types will have to be made on a case-by-case basis, depending not just on the nature of the material found and the preferences of the target journal(s), but also on the time available to write the review and the number of coauthors [15] .

Rule 5: Keep the Review Focused, but Make It of Broad Interest

Whether your plan is to write a mini- or a full review, it is good advice to keep it focused 16 , 17 . Including material just for the sake of it can easily lead to reviews that are trying to do too many things at once. The need to keep a review focused can be problematic for interdisciplinary reviews, where the aim is to bridge the gap between fields [18] . If you are writing a review on, for example, how epidemiological approaches are used in modelling the spread of ideas, you may be inclined to include material from both parent fields, epidemiology and the study of cultural diffusion. This may be necessary to some extent, but in this case a focused review would only deal in detail with those studies at the interface between epidemiology and the spread of ideas.

While focus is an important feature of a successful review, this requirement has to be balanced with the need to make the review relevant to a broad audience. This square may be circled by discussing the wider implications of the reviewed topic for other disciplines.

Rule 6: Be Critical and Consistent

Reviewing the literature is not stamp collecting. A good review does not just summarize the literature, but discusses it critically, identifies methodological problems, and points out research gaps [19] . After having read a review of the literature, a reader should have a rough idea of:

• the major achievements in the reviewed field,
• the main areas of debate, and
• the outstanding research questions.

It is challenging to achieve a successful review on all these fronts. A solution can be to involve a set of complementary coauthors: some people are excellent at mapping what has been achieved, some others are very good at identifying dark clouds on the horizon, and some have instead a knack at predicting where solutions are going to come from. If your journal club has exactly this sort of team, then you should definitely write a review of the literature! In addition to critical thinking, a literature review needs consistency, for example in the choice of passive vs. active voice and present vs. past tense.

Rule 7: Find a Logical Structure

Like a well-baked cake, a good review has a number of telling features: it is worth the reader's time, timely, systematic, well written, focused, and critical. It also needs a good structure. With reviews, the usual subdivision of research papers into introduction, methods, results, and discussion does not work or is rarely used. However, a general introduction of the context and, toward the end, a recapitulation of the main points covered and take-home messages make sense also in the case of reviews. For systematic reviews, there is a trend towards including information about how the literature was searched (database, keywords, time limits) [20] .

How can you organize the flow of the main body of the review so that the reader will be drawn into and guided through it? It is generally helpful to draw a conceptual scheme of the review, e.g., with mind-mapping techniques. Such diagrams can help recognize a logical way to order and link the various sections of a review [21] . This is the case not just at the writing stage, but also for readers if the diagram is included in the review as a figure. A careful selection of diagrams and figures relevant to the reviewed topic can be very helpful to structure the text too [22] .

Rule 8: Make Use of Feedback

Reviews of the literature are normally peer-reviewed in the same way as research papers, and rightly so [23] . As a rule, incorporating feedback from reviewers greatly helps improve a review draft. Having read the review with a fresh mind, reviewers may spot inaccuracies, inconsistencies, and ambiguities that had not been noticed by the writers due to rereading the typescript too many times. It is however advisable to reread the draft one more time before submission, as a last-minute correction of typos, leaps, and muddled sentences may enable the reviewers to focus on providing advice on the content rather than the form.

Feedback is vital to writing a good review, and should be sought from a variety of colleagues, so as to obtain a diversity of views on the draft. This may lead in some cases to conflicting views on the merits of the paper, and on how to improve it, but such a situation is better than the absence of feedback. A diversity of feedback perspectives on a literature review can help identify where the consensus view stands in the landscape of the current scientific understanding of an issue [24] .

Rule 9: Include Your Own Relevant Research, but Be Objective

In many cases, reviewers of the literature will have published studies relevant to the review they are writing. This could create a conflict of interest: how can reviewers report objectively on their own work [25] ? Some scientists may be overly enthusiastic about what they have published, and thus risk giving too much importance to their own findings in the review. However, bias could also occur in the other direction: some scientists may be unduly dismissive of their own achievements, so that they will tend to downplay their contribution (if any) to a field when reviewing it.

In general, a review of the literature should neither be a public relations brochure nor an exercise in competitive self-denial. If a reviewer is up to the job of producing a well-organized and methodical review, which flows well and provides a service to the readership, then it should be possible to be objective in reviewing one's own relevant findings. In reviews written by multiple authors, this may be achieved by assigning the review of the results of a coauthor to different coauthors.

Rule 10: Be Up-to-Date, but Do Not Forget Older Studies

Given the progressive acceleration in the publication of scientific papers, today's reviews of the literature need awareness not just of the overall direction and achievements of a field of inquiry, but also of the latest studies, so as not to become out-of-date before they have been published. Ideally, a literature review should not identify as a major research gap an issue that has just been addressed in a series of papers in press (the same applies, of course, to older, overlooked studies (“sleeping beauties” [26] )). This implies that literature reviewers would do well to keep an eye on electronic lists of papers in press, given that it can take months before these appear in scientific databases. Some reviews declare that they have scanned the literature up to a certain point in time, but given that peer review can be a rather lengthy process, a full search for newly appeared literature at the revision stage may be worthwhile. Assessing the contribution of papers that have just appeared is particularly challenging, because there is little perspective with which to gauge their significance and impact on further research and society.

Inevitably, new papers on the reviewed topic (including independently written literature reviews) will appear from all quarters after the review has been published, so that there may soon be the need for an updated review. But this is the nature of science [27] – [32] . I wish everybody good luck with writing a review of the literature.

Acknowledgments

Many thanks to M. Barbosa, K. Dehnen-Schmutz, T. Döring, D. Fontaneto, M. Garbelotto, O. Holdenrieder, M. Jeger, D. Lonsdale, A. MacLeod, P. Mills, M. Moslonka-Lefebvre, G. Stancanelli, P. Weisberg, and X. Xu for insights and discussions, and to P. Bourne, T. Matoni, and D. Smith for helpful comments on a previous draft.

Funding Statement

This work was funded by the French Foundation for Research on Biodiversity (FRB) through its Centre for Synthesis and Analysis of Biodiversity data (CESAB), as part of the NETSEED research project. The funders had no role in the preparation of the manuscript.

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How To Write A Literature Review - A Complete Guide

Table of Contents

A literature review is much more than just another section in your research paper. It forms the very foundation of your research. It is a formal piece of writing where you analyze the existing theoretical framework, principles, and assumptions and use that as a base to shape your approach to the research question.

Curating and drafting a solid literature review section not only lends more credibility to your research paper but also makes your research tighter and better focused. But, writing literature reviews is a difficult task. It requires extensive reading, plus you have to consider market trends and technological and political changes, which tend to change in the blink of an eye.

Now streamline your literature review process with the help of SciSpace Copilot. With this AI research assistant, you can efficiently synthesize and analyze a vast amount of information, identify key themes and trends, and uncover gaps in the existing research. Get real-time explanations, summaries, and answers to your questions for the paper you're reviewing, making navigating and understanding the complex literature landscape easier.

In this comprehensive guide, we will explore everything from the definition of a literature review, its appropriate length, various types of literature reviews, and how to write one.

What is a literature review?

A literature review is a collation of survey, research, critical evaluation, and assessment of the existing literature in a preferred domain.

Eminent researcher and academic Arlene Fink, in her book Conducting Research Literature Reviews , defines it as the following:

“A literature review surveys books, scholarly articles, and any other sources relevant to a particular issue, area of research, or theory, and by so doing, provides a description, summary, and critical evaluation of these works in relation to the research problem being investigated.

Literature reviews are designed to provide an overview of sources you have explored while researching a particular topic, and to demonstrate to your readers how your research fits within a larger field of study.”

Simply put, a literature review can be defined as a critical discussion of relevant pre-existing research around your research question and carving out a definitive place for your study in the existing body of knowledge. Literature reviews can be presented in multiple ways: a section of an article, the whole research paper itself, or a chapter of your thesis.

A literature review does function as a summary of sources, but it also allows you to analyze further, interpret, and examine the stated theories, methods, viewpoints, and, of course, the gaps in the existing content.

As an author, you can discuss and interpret the research question and its various aspects and debate your adopted methods to support the claim.

What is the purpose of a literature review?

A literature review is meant to help your readers understand the relevance of your research question and where it fits within the existing body of knowledge. As a researcher, you should use it to set the context, build your argument, and establish the need for your study.

What is the importance of a literature review?

The literature review is a critical part of research papers because it helps you:

• Gain an in-depth understanding of your research question and the surrounding area
• Convey that you have a thorough understanding of your research area and are up-to-date with the latest changes and advancements
• Establish how your research is connected or builds on the existing body of knowledge and how it could contribute to further research
• Elaborate on the validity and suitability of your theoretical framework and research methodology
• Identify and highlight gaps and shortcomings in the existing body of knowledge and how things need to change
• Convey to readers how your study is different or how it contributes to the research area

How long should a literature review be?

Ideally, the literature review should take up 15%-40% of the total length of your manuscript. So, if you have a 10,000-word research paper, the minimum word count could be 1500.

Your literature review format depends heavily on the kind of manuscript you are writing — an entire chapter in case of doctoral theses, a part of the introductory section in a research article, to a full-fledged review article that examines the previously published research on a topic.

Another determining factor is the type of research you are doing. The literature review section tends to be longer for secondary research projects than primary research projects.

What are the different types of literature reviews?

All literature reviews are not the same. There are a variety of possible approaches that you can take. It all depends on the type of research you are pursuing.

Here are the different types of literature reviews:

Argumentative review

It is called an argumentative review when you carefully present literature that only supports or counters a specific argument or premise to establish a viewpoint.

Integrative review

It is a type of literature review focused on building a comprehensive understanding of a topic by combining available theoretical frameworks and empirical evidence.

Methodological review

This approach delves into the ''how'' and the ''what" of the research question —  you cannot look at the outcome in isolation; you should also review the methodology used.

Systematic review

This form consists of an overview of existing evidence pertinent to a clearly formulated research question, which uses pre-specified and standardized methods to identify and critically appraise relevant research and collect, report, and analyze data from the studies included in the review.

Meta-analysis review

Meta-analysis uses statistical methods to summarize the results of independent studies. By combining information from all relevant studies, meta-analysis can provide more precise estimates of the effects than those derived from the individual studies included within a review.

Historical review

Historical literature reviews focus on examining research throughout a period, often starting with the first time an issue, concept, theory, or phenomenon emerged in the literature, then tracing its evolution within the scholarship of a discipline. The purpose is to place research in a historical context to show familiarity with state-of-the-art developments and identify future research's likely directions.

Theoretical Review

This form aims to examine the corpus of theory accumulated regarding an issue, concept, theory, and phenomenon. The theoretical literature review helps to establish what theories exist, the relationships between them, the degree the existing approaches have been investigated, and to develop new hypotheses to be tested.

Scoping Review

The Scoping Review is often used at the beginning of an article, dissertation, or research proposal. It is conducted before the research to highlight gaps in the existing body of knowledge and explains why the project should be greenlit.

State-of-the-Art Review

The State-of-the-Art review is conducted periodically, focusing on the most recent research. It describes what is currently known, understood, or agreed upon regarding the research topic and highlights where there are still disagreements.

Can you use the first person in a literature review?

When writing literature reviews, you should avoid the usage of first-person pronouns. It means that instead of "I argue that" or "we argue that," the appropriate expression would be "this research paper argues that."

Do you need an abstract for a literature review?

Ideally, yes. It is always good to have a condensed summary that is self-contained and independent of the rest of your review. As for how to draft one, you can follow the same fundamental idea when preparing an abstract for a literature review. It should also include:

• The research topic and your motivation behind selecting it
• A one-sentence thesis statement
• An explanation of the kinds of literature featured in the review
• Summary of what you've learned
• Conclusions you drew from the literature you reviewed
• Potential implications and future scope for research

Here's an example of the abstract of a literature review

Is a literature review written in the past tense?

Yes, the literature review should ideally be written in the past tense. You should not use the present or future tense when writing one. The exceptions are when you have statements describing events that happened earlier than the literature you are reviewing or events that are currently occurring; then, you can use the past perfect or present perfect tenses.

How many sources for a literature review?

There are multiple approaches to deciding how many sources to include in a literature review section. The first approach would be to look level you are at as a researcher. For instance, a doctoral thesis might need 60+ sources. In contrast, you might only need to refer to 5-15 sources at the undergraduate level.

The second approach is based on the kind of literature review you are doing — whether it is merely a chapter of your paper or if it is a self-contained paper in itself. When it is just a chapter, sources should equal the total number of pages in your article's body. In the second scenario, you need at least three times as many sources as there are pages in your work.

Quick tips on how to write a literature review

To know how to write a literature review, you must clearly understand its impact and role in establishing your work as substantive research material.

You need to follow the below-mentioned steps, to write a literature review:

• Outline the purpose behind the literature review
• Search relevant literature
• Examine and assess the relevant resources
• Discover connections by drawing deep insights from the resources
• Structure planning to write a good literature review

1. Outline and identify the purpose of  a literature review

As a first step on how to write a literature review, you must know what the research question or topic is and what shape you want your literature review to take. Ensure you understand the research topic inside out, or else seek clarifications. You must be able to the answer below questions before you start:

• How many sources do I need to include?
• What kind of sources should I analyze?
• How much should I critically evaluate each source?
• Should I summarize, synthesize or offer a critique of the sources?
• Do I need to include any background information or definitions?

Additionally, you should know that the narrower your research topic is, the swifter it will be for you to restrict the number of sources to be analyzed.

2. Search relevant literature

Dig deeper into search engines to discover what has already been published around your chosen topic. Make sure you thoroughly go through appropriate reference sources like books, reports, journal articles, government docs, and web-based resources.

You must prepare a list of keywords and their different variations. You can start your search from any library’s catalog, provided you are an active member of that institution. The exact keywords can be extended to widen your research over other databases and academic search engines like:

• Google Scholar
• Microsoft Academic
• Science.gov

Besides, it is not advisable to go through every resource word by word. Alternatively, what you can do is you can start by reading the abstract and then decide whether that source is relevant to your research or not.

Additionally, you must spend surplus time assessing the quality and relevance of resources. It would help if you tried preparing a list of citations to ensure that there lies no repetition of authors, publications, or articles in the literature review.

3. Examine and assess the sources

It is nearly impossible for you to go through every detail in the research article. So rather than trying to fetch every detail, you have to analyze and decide which research sources resemble closest and appear relevant to your chosen domain.

While analyzing the sources, you should look to find out answers to questions like:

• What question or problem has the author been describing and debating?
• What is the definition of critical aspects?
• How well the theories, approach, and methodology have been explained?
• Whether the research theory used some conventional or new innovative approach?
• How relevant are the key findings of the work?
• In what ways does it relate to other sources on the same topic?
• What challenges does this research paper pose to the existing theory
• What are the possible contributions or benefits it adds to the subject domain?

Be always mindful that you refer only to credible and authentic resources. It would be best if you always take references from different publications to validate your theory.

Always keep track of important information or data you can present in your literature review right from the beginning. It will help steer your path from any threats of plagiarism and also make it easier to curate an annotated bibliography or reference section.

4. Discover connections

At this stage, you must start deciding on the argument and structure of your literature review. To accomplish this, you must discover and identify the relations and connections between various resources while drafting your abstract.

A few aspects that you should be aware of while writing a literature review include:

• Rise to prominence: Theories and methods that have gained reputation and supporters over time.
• Constant scrutiny: Concepts or theories that repeatedly went under examination.
• Contradictions and conflicts: Theories, both the supporting and the contradictory ones, for the research topic.
• Knowledge gaps: What exactly does it fail to address, and how to bridge them with further research?
• Influential resources: Significant research projects available that have been upheld as milestones or perhaps, something that can modify the current trends

Once you join the dots between various past research works, it will be easier for you to draw a conclusion and identify your contribution to the existing knowledge base.

5. Structure planning to write a good literature review

There exist different ways towards planning and executing the structure of a literature review. The format of a literature review varies and depends upon the length of the research.

Like any other research paper, the literature review format must contain three sections: introduction, body, and conclusion. The goals and objectives of the research question determine what goes inside these three sections.

Nevertheless, a good literature review can be structured according to the chronological, thematic, methodological, or theoretical framework approach.

Literature review samples

1. Standalone

2. As a section of a research paper

How SciSpace Discover makes literature review a breeze?

SciSpace Discover is a one-stop solution to do an effective literature search and get barrier-free access to scientific knowledge. It is an excellent repository where you can find millions of only peer-reviewed articles and full-text PDF files. Here’s more on how you can use it:

Find the right information

Find what you want quickly and easily with comprehensive search filters that let you narrow down papers according to PDF availability, year of publishing, document type, and affiliated institution. Moreover, you can sort the results based on the publishing date, citation count, and relevance.

Assess credibility of papers quickly

When doing the literature review, it is critical to establish the quality of your sources. They form the foundation of your research. SciSpace Discover helps you assess the quality of a source by providing an overview of its references, citations, and performance metrics.

Get the complete picture in no time

SciSpace Discover’s personalized suggestion engine helps you stay on course and get the complete picture of the topic from one place. Every time you visit an article page, it provides you links to related papers. Besides that, it helps you understand what’s trending, who are the top authors, and who are the leading publishers on a topic.

Make referring sources super easy

To ensure you don't lose track of your sources, you must start noting down your references when doing the literature review. SciSpace Discover makes this step effortless. Click the 'cite' button on an article page, and you will receive preloaded citation text in multiple styles — all you've to do is copy-paste it into your manuscript.

Final tips on how to write a literature review

A massive chunk of time and effort is required to write a good literature review. But, if you go about it systematically, you'll be able to save a ton of time and build a solid foundation for your research.

We hope this guide has helped you answer several key questions you have about writing literature reviews.

Would you like to explore SciSpace Discover and kick off your literature search right away? You can get started here .

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. how to start a literature review.

• What questions do you want to answer?

• What sources do you need to answer these questions?

• What information do these sources contain?

• How can you use this information to answer your questions?

2. What to include in a literature review?

• A brief background of the problem or issue

• What has previously been done to address the problem or issue

• A description of what you will do in your project

• How this study will contribute to research on the subject

3. Why literature review is important?

The literature review is an important part of any research project because it allows the writer to look at previous studies on a topic and determine existing gaps in the literature, as well as what has already been done. It will also help them to choose the most appropriate method for their own study.

4. How to cite a literature review in APA format?

To cite a literature review in APA style, you need to provide the author's name, the title of the article, and the year of publication. For example: Patel, A. B., & Stokes, G. S. (2012). The relationship between personality and intelligence: A meta-analysis of longitudinal research. Personality and Individual Differences, 53(1), 16-21

5. What are the components of a literature review?

• A brief introduction to the topic, including its background and context. The introduction should also include a rationale for why the study is being conducted and what it will accomplish.

• A description of the methodologies used in the study. This can include information about data collection methods, sample size, and statistical analyses.

• A presentation of the findings in an organized format that helps readers follow along with the author's conclusions.

6. What are common errors in writing literature review?

• Not spending enough time to critically evaluate the relevance of resources, observations and conclusions.

• Totally relying on secondary data while ignoring primary data.

• Letting your personal bias seep into your interpretation of existing literature.

• No detailed explanation of the procedure to discover and identify an appropriate literature review.

7. What are the 5 C's of writing literature review?

• Cite - the sources you utilized and referenced in your research.

• Compare - existing arguments, hypotheses, methodologies, and conclusions found in the knowledge base.

• Contrast - the arguments, topics, methodologies, approaches, and disputes that may be found in the literature.

• Critique - the literature and describe the ideas and opinions you find more convincing and why.

• Connect - the various studies you reviewed in your research.

8. How many sources should a literature review have?

When it is just a chapter, sources should equal the total number of pages in your article's body. if it is a self-contained paper in itself, you need at least three times as many sources as there are pages in your work.

9. Can literature review have diagrams?

• To represent an abstract idea or concept

• To explain the steps of a process or procedure

• To help readers understand the relationships between different concepts

10. How old should sources be in a literature review?

Sources for a literature review should be as current as possible or not older than ten years. The only exception to this rule is if you are reviewing a historical topic and need to use older sources.

11. What are the types of literature review?

• Argumentative review

• Integrative review

• Methodological review

• Systematic review

• Meta-analysis review

• Historical review

• Theoretical review

• Scoping review

• State-of-the-Art review

12. Is a literature review mandatory?

Yes. Literature review is a mandatory part of any research project. It is a critical step in the process that allows you to establish the scope of your research, and provide a background for the rest of your work.

But before you go,

• Six Online Tools for Easy Literature Review
• Evaluating literature review: systematic vs. scoping reviews
• Systematic Approaches to a Successful Literature Review
• Writing Integrative Literature Reviews: Guidelines and Examples

You might also like

Consensus GPT vs. SciSpace GPT: Choose the Best GPT for Research

Literature Review and Theoretical Framework: Understanding the Differences

Types of Essays in Academic Writing - Quick Guide (2024)

Training videos   |   Faqs

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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Dissertations & projects: Tenses

• Research questions
• The process of reviewing
• Project management
• Literature-based projects

On this page:

“You will use a range of tenses depending on what you are writing about . ” Elizabeth M Fisher, Richard C Thompson, and Daniel Holtom,   Enjoy Writing Your Science Thesis Or Dissertation!

Tenses can be tricky to master. Even well respected journals differ in the guidance they give their authors for their use. However, their are some general conventions about what tenses are used in different parts of the report/dissertation. This page gives some advice on standard practice.

What tenses will you use?

There are exceptions however, most notably in the literature review where you will use a mixture of past , present and present perfect tenses (don't worry, that is explained below), when discussing the implications of your findings when the present tense is appropriate and in the recommendations where you are likely to use the future tense.

The tenses used as standard practice in each of these sections of your report are given and explained below.

In your abstract

You have some leeway with tense use in your abstract and guidance does vary which can sometimes be confusing. We recommend the following:

Describing the current situation and reason for your study

Mostly use the present tense,  i.e. "This is the current state of affairs and this is why this study is needed."

Occasionally, you may find the need to use something called the present perfect tense when you are describing things that happened in the past but are still relevant. The present perfect tense uses have/has and then the past participle of the verb i.e. Previous research on this topic has focused on... 

Describing the aims of your study

Here you have a choice. It is perfectly acceptable to use either the present or past tense,  i.e. "This study aims to..." or "This study aimed to..." 

Describing your methodology

Use the past tense to describe what you did, i.e. "A qualitative approach was used." "A survey was undertaken to ...". "The blood sample was analysed by..."

Describing your findings

Use the past tense to describe what you found as it is specific to your study, i.e. "The results showed that...", "The analysis indicated that..."

Suggesting the implications of your study

Use the present tense as even though your study took place in the past, your implications remain relevant in the present, i.e. Results revealed x which indicates that..."

Example abstract 

An example abstract with reasoning for the tenses chosen can be found at the bottom of this excellent blog post: 

Using the Present Tense and Past Tense When Writing an Abstract

In your methodology

The methodology is one of the easiest sections when it comes to tenses as you are explaining to your reader what you did. This is therefore almost exclusively written in the past tense.

Blood specimens were frozen at -80 o C.

A survey was designed using the Jisc Surveys tool.

Participants were purposefully selected.

The following search strategy was used to search the literature:

Very occasionally you may use the present tense if you are justifying a decision you have taken (as the justification is still valid, not just at the time you made the decision). For example: 

Purposeful sampling was used to ensure that a range of views were included. This sampling method maximises efficiency and validity as it identifies information-rich cases and ... (Morse & Niehaus, 2009).

In your discussion/conclusion

This will primarily be written in the present tense as you are generally discussing or making conclusions about the relevance of your findings at the present time. So you may write:

The findings of this research suggest that.../are potentially important because.../could open a new avenue for further research...

There will also be times when you use the past tense , especially when referring to part of your own research or previous published research research - but this is usually followed by something in the present tense to indicate the current relevance or the future tense to indicate possible future directions:

Analysis of the survey results found most respondents were not concerned with the processes, just the outcome. This suggests that managers should focus on...

These findings mirrored those of Cheung (2020), who also found that ESL pupils failed to understand some basic yet fundamental instructions. Addressing this will help ensure...

In your introduction

The introduction generally introduces what is in the rest of your document as is therefore describing the present situation and so uses the present tense :

Chapter 3  describes  the research methodology.

Depending on your discipline, your introduction may also review the literature so please also see that section below.

In your literature review

The findings of some literature may only be applicable in the specific circumstances that the research was undertaken and so need grounding to that study. Conversely, the findings of other literature may now be accepted as established knowledge. Also, you may consider the findings of older literature to be still relevant and relatively recent literature be already superseded. The tenses you write in will help to indicate a lot of this to the reader. In other words, you will use a mix of tenses in your review depending on what you are implying.

Findings only applicable in the specific circumstances

Use the past tense . For example: 

In an early study, Sharkey et al. (1991)  found  that isoprene emissions  were doubled  in leaves on sunnier sides of oak and aspen trees. 

Using the past tense indicates that you are not implying that isoprene emissions are always doubled on the sunnier side of the trees, just that is what was found in the Sharkey et al. study.

Findings that are still relevant or now established knowledge

Mostly use the present tense , unless the study is not recent and the authors are the subject of the sentence (which you should use very sparingly in a literature review) when you may need to use a mixture of the past and present. For example:

A narrowing of what 'graduateness' represents damages students’ abilities to thrive as they move through what will almost certainly be complex career pathways (Holmes, 2001).

Holmes (2001) argued strongly that a narrowing of what 'graduateness' represents damages  students’ abilities to thrive as they move through what will almost certainly be complex career pathways

Both of these imply that you think this is still the case (although it is perhaps more strongly implied in the first example). You may also want to use some academic caution too - such as writing 'may damage' rather than the more definite 'damages'.

Presenting your results

As with your methodology, your results section should be written in the past tense . This indicates that you are accepting that the results are specific to your research. Whilst they may have current implications, that part will not be considered until your discussion/conclusions section(s).

Four main themes were identified from the interview data.

There was a significant change in oxygen levels.

Like with the methodology, you will occasionally switch to present tense to write things like "Table 3.4 shows that ..." but generally, stick to the past tense.

In your recommendations

Not everyone will need to include recommendations and some may have them as part of the conclusions chapter. Recommendations are written in a mixture of the present tense and  future tense :

It is recommended that ward layout is adapted, where possible, to provide low-sensory bays for patients with autism. These will still be useable by all patients but...

Useful links

• Verb tenses in scientific manuscripts From International Science Editing
• Which Verb Tenses Should I Use in a Research Paper? Blog from WordVice
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• Next: Voice >>
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• How to Write a Literature Review | Guide, Examples, & Templates

How to Write a Literature Review | Guide, Examples, & Templates

Published on January 2, 2023 by Shona McCombes . Revised on September 11, 2023.

What is a literature review? A literature review is a survey of scholarly sources on a specific topic. It provides an overview of current knowledge, allowing you to identify relevant theories, methods, and gaps in the existing research that you can later apply to your paper, thesis, or dissertation topic .

There are five key steps to writing a literature review:

• Search for relevant literature
• Evaluate sources
• Identify themes, debates, and gaps
• Outline the structure
• Write your literature review

A good literature review doesn’t just summarize sources—it analyzes, synthesizes , and critically evaluates to give a clear picture of the state of knowledge on the subject.

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Table of contents

What is the purpose of a literature review, examples of literature reviews, step 1 – search for relevant literature, step 2 – evaluate and select sources, step 3 – identify themes, debates, and gaps, step 4 – outline your literature review’s structure, step 5 – write your literature review, free lecture slides, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions, introduction.

• Quick Run-through
• Step 1 & 2

When you write a thesis , dissertation , or research paper , you will likely have to conduct a literature review to situate your research within existing knowledge. The literature review gives you a chance to:

• Demonstrate your familiarity with the topic and its scholarly context
• Develop a theoretical framework and methodology for your research
• Position your work in relation to other researchers and theorists
• Show how your research addresses a gap or contributes to a debate
• Evaluate the current state of research and demonstrate your knowledge of the scholarly debates around your topic.

Writing literature reviews is a particularly important skill if you want to apply for graduate school or pursue a career in research. We’ve written a step-by-step guide that you can follow below.

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

Writing literature reviews can be quite challenging! A good starting point could be to look at some examples, depending on what kind of literature review you’d like to write.

• Example literature review #1: “Why Do People Migrate? A Review of the Theoretical Literature” ( Theoretical literature review about the development of economic migration theory from the 1950s to today.)
• Example literature review #2: “Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines” ( Methodological literature review about interdisciplinary knowledge acquisition and production.)
• Example literature review #3: “The Use of Technology in English Language Learning: A Literature Review” ( Thematic literature review about the effects of technology on language acquisition.)
• Example literature review #4: “Learners’ Listening Comprehension Difficulties in English Language Learning: A Literature Review” ( Chronological literature review about how the concept of listening skills has changed over time.)

You can also check out our templates with literature review examples and sample outlines at the links below.

Download Word doc Download Google doc

Before you begin searching for literature, you need a clearly defined topic .

If you are writing the literature review section of a dissertation or research paper, you will search for literature related to your research problem and questions .

Make a list of keywords

Start by creating a list of keywords related to your research question. Include each of the key concepts or variables you’re interested in, and list any synonyms and related terms. You can add to this list as you discover new keywords in the process of your literature search.

• Social media, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok
• Body image, self-perception, self-esteem, mental health
• Generation Z, teenagers, adolescents, youth

Search for relevant sources

Use your keywords to begin searching for sources. Some useful databases to search for journals and articles include:

• Your university’s library catalogue
• Google Scholar
• Project Muse (humanities and social sciences)
• Medline (life sciences and biomedicine)
• EconLit (economics)
• Inspec (physics, engineering and computer science)

You can also use boolean operators to help narrow down your search.

Make sure to read the abstract to find out whether an article is relevant to your question. When you find a useful book or article, you can check the bibliography to find other relevant sources.

You likely won’t be able to read absolutely everything that has been written on your topic, so it will be necessary to evaluate which sources are most relevant to your research question.

For each publication, ask yourself:

• What question or problem is the author addressing?
• What are the key concepts and how are they defined?
• What are the key theories, models, and methods?
• Does the research use established frameworks or take an innovative approach?
• What are the results and conclusions of the study?
• How does the publication relate to other literature in the field? Does it confirm, add to, or challenge established knowledge?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of the research?

Make sure the sources you use are credible , and make sure you read any landmark studies and major theories in your field of research.

You can use our template to summarize and evaluate sources you’re thinking about using. Click on either button below to download.

Take notes and cite your sources

As you read, you should also begin the writing process. Take notes that you can later incorporate into the text of your literature review.

It is important to keep track of your sources with citations to avoid plagiarism . It can be helpful to make an annotated bibliography , where you compile full citation information and write a paragraph of summary and analysis for each source. This helps you remember what you read and saves time later in the process.

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To begin organizing your literature review’s argument and structure, be sure you understand the connections and relationships between the sources you’ve read. Based on your reading and notes, you can look for:

• Trends and patterns (in theory, method or results): do certain approaches become more or less popular over time?
• Themes: what questions or concepts recur across the literature?
• Debates, conflicts and contradictions: where do sources disagree?
• Pivotal publications: are there any influential theories or studies that changed the direction of the field?
• Gaps: what is missing from the literature? Are there weaknesses that need to be addressed?

This step will help you work out the structure of your literature review and (if applicable) show how your own research will contribute to existing knowledge.

• Most research has focused on young women.
• There is an increasing interest in the visual aspects of social media.
• But there is still a lack of robust research on highly visual platforms like Instagram and Snapchat—this is a gap that you could address in your own research.

There are various approaches to organizing the body of a literature review. Depending on the length of your literature review, you can combine several of these strategies (for example, your overall structure might be thematic, but each theme is discussed chronologically).

Chronological

The simplest approach is to trace the development of the topic over time. However, if you choose this strategy, be careful to avoid simply listing and summarizing sources in order.

Try to analyze patterns, turning points and key debates that have shaped the direction of the field. Give your interpretation of how and why certain developments occurred.

If you have found some recurring central themes, you can organize your literature review into subsections that address different aspects of the topic.

For example, if you are reviewing literature about inequalities in migrant health outcomes, key themes might include healthcare policy, language barriers, cultural attitudes, legal status, and economic access.

Methodological

If you draw your sources from different disciplines or fields that use a variety of research methods , you might want to compare the results and conclusions that emerge from different approaches. For example:

• Look at what results have emerged in qualitative versus quantitative research
• Discuss how the topic has been approached by empirical versus theoretical scholarship
• Divide the literature into sociological, historical, and cultural sources

Theoretical

A literature review is often the foundation for a theoretical framework . You can use it to discuss various theories, models, and definitions of key concepts.

You might argue for the relevance of a specific theoretical approach, or combine various theoretical concepts to create a framework for your research.

Like any other academic text , your literature review should have an introduction , a main body, and a conclusion . What you include in each depends on the objective of your literature review.

The introduction should clearly establish the focus and purpose of the literature review.

Depending on the length of your literature review, you might want to divide the body into subsections. You can use a subheading for each theme, time period, or methodological approach.

As you write, you can follow these tips:

• Summarize and synthesize: give an overview of the main points of each source and combine them into a coherent whole
• Analyze and interpret: don’t just paraphrase other researchers — add your own interpretations where possible, discussing the significance of findings in relation to the literature as a whole
• Critically evaluate: mention the strengths and weaknesses of your sources
• Write in well-structured paragraphs: use transition words and topic sentences to draw connections, comparisons and contrasts

In the conclusion, you should summarize the key findings you have taken from the literature and emphasize their significance.

When you’ve finished writing and revising your literature review, don’t forget to proofread thoroughly before submitting. Not a language expert? Check out Scribbr’s professional proofreading services !

This article has been adapted into lecture slides that you can use to teach your students about writing a literature review.

Scribbr slides are free to use, customize, and distribute for educational purposes.

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If you want to know more about the research process , methodology , research bias , or statistics , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

• Sampling methods
• Simple random sampling
• Stratified sampling
• Cluster sampling
• Likert scales
• Reproducibility

 Statistics

• Null hypothesis
• Statistical power
• Probability distribution
• Effect size
• Poisson distribution

Research bias

• Optimism bias
• Cognitive bias
• Implicit bias
• Hawthorne effect
• Anchoring bias
• Explicit bias

A literature review is a survey of scholarly sources (such as books, journal articles, and theses) related to a specific topic or research question .

It is often written as part of a thesis, dissertation , or research paper , in order to situate your work in relation to existing knowledge.

There are several reasons to conduct a literature review at the beginning of a research project:

• To familiarize yourself with the current state of knowledge on your topic
• To ensure that you’re not just repeating what others have already done
• To identify gaps in knowledge and unresolved problems that your research can address
• To develop your theoretical framework and methodology
• To provide an overview of the key findings and debates on the topic

Writing the literature review shows your reader how your work relates to existing research and what new insights it will contribute.

The literature review usually comes near the beginning of your thesis or dissertation . After the introduction , it grounds your research in a scholarly field and leads directly to your theoretical framework or methodology .

A literature review is a survey of credible sources on a topic, often used in dissertations , theses, and research papers . Literature reviews give an overview of knowledge on a subject, helping you identify relevant theories and methods, as well as gaps in existing research. Literature reviews are set up similarly to other  academic texts , with an introduction , a main body, and a conclusion .

An  annotated bibliography is a list of  source references that has a short description (called an annotation ) for each of the sources. It is often assigned as part of the research process for a  paper .  

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Present Perfect Tense is often used when the focus of the work is on several authors.

e.g. ... the strength of … [3, 6, 9] Present Perfect Tense may also be used when you want to refer to how much or how little research has been carried out on a particular topic.   into the effects of …   Present Tense is often used to refer to generally accepted scientific facts.   that … (Smythe, 1995).   Modal Verbs may be used if you wish to introduce a degree of tentativeness into your comments about the work of an author. In this situation the reporting verb will be in the passive voice and the addition of a modal verb will indicate the degree of confidence attributed to the information.   .   Skip to Content Massey University Search OWLL Handouts (Printable) Pre-reading Service StudyUp Recordings StudyUp Postgraduate Academic writing Intro to academic writing What is academic writing? 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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 Academic Q+A Have a study or assignment writing question? Ask an expert at Academic Q+A Live online workshops StudyUp (undergraduate) Campus workshops Albany (undergraduate) Albany (postgraduate) Albany (distance) Manawatu (undergraduate) Manawatu (postgraduate) Upcoming events All upcoming events Academic writing and learning support 0800 MASSEY | (+64 6 350 5701) [email protected] Online form Verb tenses in scientific writing: Which tense should you use? If you’re fluent in English, using tenses in scientific writing should come naturally to you. You shouldn’t need to flip through a grammar book, ask a freelance editor, or search online for “methods tense” or “literature review tense”. But verb tenses may start to haunt you if you’re writing an article for a top peer-reviewed journal and you know you have to get every detail right. For example, you may wonder, What tense should be used in methodology sections? Should the introduction or literature review be written in the present tense or past tense? In this post I’m going to answer these and other questions on verb tenses in scientific writing to make it easier for you to understand which tenses to use in a research paper. Past or present tense in a cademic writing? It depends. There’s  no consensus on how authors should be using verb tenses in scientific writing. Here is a summary of the main recommendations of academic writing experts on tenses in scientific writing. Literature review verb tense For the literature review, most academic editors recommend using the past simple or present perfect when talking about past research. Use the past simple to discuss what was done in the past (the authors collected, investigated, analyzed, etc.). Use present perfect to talk about findings from previous studies that are still valid today (the author has shown, has demonstrated, etc.). If you don’t want to use the past simple or present perfect tense in literature review sections, your other option is the present simple tense. This is the so-called literary present. Writing the literature review in the present simple tense helps simulate an ongoing academic conversation , to which you’re contributing (“Author et al. (2021) find…, discuss…, examine… imply…”). In summary, what tense should the introduction be written in? Past simple or present perfect tense for past research Present simple for general truths or for the entire literature review section Verb tenses in the methodology and results sections For the methodology, almost all academic writing resources agree that the past simple tense is the logical choice. You are discussing what you did (collected data, analyzed them, and derived your results)—and all of that happened in the past. However, you may also need to use the present simple tense to refer to figures and tables. In summary, what tense should methods be written in? For the methodology section, use these tenses: the past simple tense to explain your methods the present simple tense to refer to figures or tables What tense should a discussion be written in? Tenses for the discussion are similar to those for the introduction: past simple or present perfect tense when referring to what you did (past research) present simple for general truths or for interpretations of your data Verb tenses in the conclusion section For the conclusion, you may need to use several tenses. Again, when referring to general truths or implications of your results, use the present simple. When referring to what you did, use the past simple or present perfect tense. Use the simple past when discussing the research you completed and is no longer continuing. Use the present perfect when discussing an action that started in the past and is still happening now, or an action that happens regularly. So, for the conclusion, use these tenses: present simple for things that are true at the time of writing, the conclusions of your study, and its implications past simple or present perfect tense for past work Knowing how to use verb tenses in scientific writing is better than imitating other authors In scientific writing, using verb tenses inconsistently or unnecessarily shifting tenses means sloppy writing. A poorly written manuscript submitted to a peer-reviewed journal will come back with a long list of revisions—if it’s accepted for publication. Hiring a freelance editor for research papers can help you polish your writing style and improve the likelihood that your manuscript will be accepted the second time. If you don’t want to hire a freelance editor, you may need to edit your own research paper . Mastering verb tenses in scientific writing will help you make the right choice for each section of your paper. Try to resist the temptation to imitate others’ writing style. It’s common for new authors to learn academic writing the same way they learned to speak: by imitation. They peruse some articles published in their target journal to see what verb tenses other authors used and then make the same choices. However, this is not such a great idea, because not all published articles are examples of good writing. You risk imitating an author that didn’t pay much attention to verb tenses in scientific writing, or whose work was edited by someone with little experience. How to choose the right verb tenses for a research paper If emulating others’ writing style comes with the risk of picking up bad habits, how do you choose the right verb tense to use in a scholarly paper? Unfortunately, style guides, academic writing books, and academic editors give conflicting advice. A solution to this problem is to follow the recommendations of your university’s writing center if you’re writing a PhD thesis or dissertation. If, however, you’re writing a research paper for a journal, follow its guidelines. Some publishers may let you choose any style guide as long as you’re consistent. In that case, go with the style popular in your academic field (for example, APA Style in social sciences). Example: Verb tenses in APA Style If you need to follow the APA Style, it has precise instructions on using verb tenses in research papers: Introduction and literature review: To talk about previous studies, use the past simple or present perfect; for findings that continue to be true, use the present simple. Methodology and results: To talk about your methods or results, use the past simple or present perfect. Conclusions: Write the conclusions of your research and implications of your findings in the present simple. Here are some examples to help you understand how to use verb tenses in APA: Past simple tense to discuss past work: Author A (2017) showed that varied populations display similar patterns, but Author B demonstrated that patterns vary wildly Present perfect to discuss findings from previous studies that are still valid today: Other researchers have described similar processes in other environments Present simple to express general truths, facts, or ideas accepted today: Most researchers agree that our species appeared in Africa Present perfect or past simple tense to describe your methods and results: We have observed no variation in the economic growth rate, but found it depends on several factors Present simple tense to describe the conclusions and implications of your study: Our results indicate a strong correlation between A and B, but we need further research in this area Use the right tenses in scientific writing for clarity The goal of using the right verb tenses in scientific writing is clarity. So, whether you follow your instincts, your advisor’s suggestions, an editor’s recommendations, or a style guide, aim at clarity and logic. A well-written manuscript will have a better chance of being accepted for publication. Also, it won’t require several rounds of revision to improve its language, meaning you save time and can focus on your science. Do you need to hire a freelance editor for a research paper? Send me a message at [email protected]. Related posts: Write your research paper outline Should I edit my own research paper? Academic editing tips I wish I knew as a research scientist Last revised on 23 June 2022 About Cristina N. A freelance editor and writer with a keen interest in science, nature, and communication, I love to craft articles that help and inspire people. Why your grammar checker can’t make documents perfect Aim: help and inspire people to improve their written communications. Neagu Raluca-Cristina | VAT Registration Number: IT04535070264 © 2015–2024 Neagu Raluca-Cristina PROOFREADING TERMS OF SERVICE PRIVACY POLICY TESTIMONIALS Universiti Teknologi Malaysia What tenses should be used in the research paper and thesis? The most concern part is the literature review. Most recent answer. Popular answers (1) Top contributors to discussions in this field PlanaltoResearch University of Mosul Sylhet Agricultural University University of the Andes (Venezuela) Sultan Moulay Slimane University Get help with your research Join ResearchGate to ask questions, get input, and advance your work. All Answers (14) Similar questions and discussions Asked 17 November 2017 Asked 24 October 2017 Asked 14 December 2016 From 1 to 1.80 represents (strongly disagree). From 1.81 until 2.60 represents (do not agree). From 2.61 until 3.40 represents (true to some extent). From 3:41 until 4:20 represents (agree). From 4:21 until 5:00 represents (strongly agree).  mean score from 0.01 to 1.00 is (strongly disagree);  to 2.00 is (disagree); from 2.01 until 3.00 is (neutral); 3.01 until 4:00 is (agree); mean score from 4.01 until 5.00 is (strongly agree) Asked 28 June 2023 Asked 29 February 2020 Asked 2 September 2016 Asked 10 April 2023 Asked 4 April 2023 Asked 10 March 2023 Related Publications Recruit researchers Join for free Login Email Tip: Most researchers use their institutional email address as their ResearchGate login Password Forgot password? Keep me logged in Log in or Continue with Google Welcome back! Please log in. Email · Hint Tip: Most researchers use their institutional email address as their ResearchGate login Password Forgot password? Keep me logged in Log in or Continue with Google No account? Sign up Stack Exchange Network Stack Exchange network consists of 183 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow , the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. Q&A for work Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. Tense for literature survey [duplicate] I am writing a literature survey for papers from 2000 to 2017. Should I use a present tense or past tense when I am describing methods that were used in those papers? literature-review This is a duplicate question: see academia.stackexchange.com/search?q=past+present+tense . Quite a few of those questions refer to literature review sections of articles, theses, etc. –  Tripartio Commented Sep 18, 2017 at 8:47 Either past or present tense is reasonable for a literature survey. You could argue for the past tense since the work was already completed, or use the present tense because the papers currently exist and describe something that can be found now. The main issue is to be consistent in your usage throughout the review. Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged writing literature-review . Featured on Meta Announcing a change to the data-dump process Upcoming initiatives on Stack Overflow and across the Stack Exchange network... We spent a sprint addressing your requests — here’s how it went Hot Network Questions Does the universe include everything, or merely everything that exists? How to restore a destroyed vampire as a vampire? Can perfectly stable orbits exist in GR? why there is a need to use two access tokens in OpenID Connect? 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Search strategies and Databases Examples of Literature Reviews How to organise the review Library summary Emerald Infographic Last Updated: Jun 26, 2024 10:32 AM URL: https://ait.libguides.com/literaturereview Avoiding Common Math Mistakes-Expanding Avoiding Common Math Mistakes-Trigonometry Avoiding Common Math Mistakes-Simplifiying Avoiding Common Math Mistakes-Square Roots Avoiding Common Math Mistakes-Working with negatives Complex Numbers Decimal and Percent Dosage Calculations Adding and Subtracting Fractions BEDMAS with Fractions Multiplying and Dividing Fractions Long Division Long Multiplication Order of Operations Calculating Slope Examples Graphs of Functions Least Squares Trendline and Correlation Semi-Log and Log-Log Graphs Pythagorean Theorem Ratio and Proportion Rounding and Significant Figures Scientific Notation Square Root Unit Conversion for the Sciences Unit Conversion Examples Application of Derivatives: Examples Chain Rule: Examples Higher Order Derivatives: Examples Power Rule: Example Product Rule: Examples Quotient Rule: Examples Fundamental Theorem of Calculus Net Change Theorem: Example Newton's Method Completing the Square Simplifying Expressions Absolute Value Equations The Quadratic Formula Rational Equations Solving Equations: Application Solving Linear Equations Solving Linear Inequalities Solving Linear Systems Word Problems Domain and Range of Exponential and Logarithmic Functions Transformation of Exponential and Logarithmic Functions Solving Exponential and Logarithmic Equations Logarithmic Models Composition of Functions Domain and Range Examples Domain and Range Exponential and Logarithmic Fuctions Domain and Range of Trigonometric Functions Evaluating Functions One-to-One and Onto Functions Inverse Functions Equations of Lines Setting Up Linear Models Piecewise-Defined Functions Transformations of Exponential and Logarithmic Functions Transformations of Trigonometric Functions Bar Graph and Pie Chart Linear Regression and Correlation Normal Distribution Standard Deviation Avoiding Common Math Mistakes in Trigonometry Solving Trigonometric Equations Trigonometry on the Unit Circle Introduction to Trigonometric Functions Inverse Trigonometric Functions Setting Up Trigonometric Models Vector Magnitude, Direction, and Components Angle Between Vectors Vector Addition, Subtraction, and Scalar Multiplication Vector Dot Product and Cross Product Matrix Addition, Subtraction, and Multiplication by a Scalar Matrix Multiplication Special Matrices and Definitions How do I use my scientific calculator? 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How to Get Started Self-Assessment Optimize Your Study Session Active Study Strategies Recall Techniques Problem Solving, Experiential Learning, and Critical Thinking Online Learning Organizational Tools Procrastination, Burnout, and Motivation Concept Maps Studying for Math Evernote Tutorials: Note-taking and Organization tool Study Blue Tutorial: Note-taking and Flashcard Tool English Language Resources Video Resources 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. Walden University Faculty Portal Grammar: Verb Tenses Most common verb tenses in academic writing. According to corpus research, in academic writing, the three tenses used the most often are the simple present , the simple past , and the present perfect (Biber et al., 1999; Caplan, 2012). The next most common tense for capstone writers is the future ; the doctoral study/dissertation proposal at Walden is written in this tense for a study that will be conducted in the future. Biber, D., Johansson, S., Leech, G., Conrad, S., & Finegan, E. (1999). Longman grammar of written and spoken English . Pearson. https://doi.org/10.1162/089120101300346831 Caplan, N. A. (2012). Grammar choices for graduate and professional writers . University of Michigan Press. Simple present: Use the simple present to describe a general truth or a habitual action. This tense indicates that the statement is generally true in the past, present, and future. Example: The hospital admits patients whether or not they have proof of insurance. Simple past : Use the simple past tense to describe a completed action that took place at a specific point in the past (e.g., last year, 1 hour ago, last Sunday). In the example below, the specific point of time in the past is 1998. Example: Zimbardo (1998) researched many aspects of social psychology. Present perfect: Use the present perfect to indicate an action that occurred at a nonspecific time in the past. This action has relevance in the present. The present perfect is also sometimes used to introduce background information in a paragraph. After the first sentence, the tense shifts to the simple past. Example: Numerous researchers have used this method. Example: Many researchers have studied how small business owners can be successful beyond the initial few years in business. They found common themes among the small business owners. Future: Use the future to describe an action that will take place at a particular point in the future (at Walden, this is used especially when writing a proposal for a doctoral capstone study). Example: I will conduct semistructured interviews. Keep in mind that verb tenses should be adjusted after the proposal after the research has been completed. See this blog post about Revising the Proposal for the Final Capstone Document for more information. APA Style Guidelines on Verb Tense APA calls for consistency and accuracy in verb tense usage (see APA 7, Section 4.12 and Table 4.1). In other words, avoid unnecessary shifts in verb tense within a paragraph or in adjacent paragraphs to help ensure smooth expression. Use the past tense (e.g., researchers presented ) or the present perfect (e.g., researchers have presented ) for the literature review and the description of the procedure if discussing past events. 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 …). When explaining what an author or researcher wrote or did, use the past tense. Patterson (2012) presented, found, stated, discovered… However, there can be a shift to the present tense if the research findings still hold true: King (2010) found  that revising a document three times improves the final grade. Smith (2016) discovered that the treatment is effective. Verb Tense Guidelines When Referring to the Document Itself To preview what is coming in the document or to explain what is happening at that moment in the document, use the present or future tense: In this study, I will describe … In this study, I describe … In the next chapter, I will discuss … In the next chapter, I discuss … To refer back to information already covered, such as summaries of discussions that have already taken place or conclusions to chapters/sections, use the past tense: Chapter 1 contained my original discussion of the research questions. In summary, in this section, I presented information on… Simple Past Versus the Present Perfect Rules for the use of the present perfect differ slightly in British and American English. Researchers have also found that among American English writers, sometimes individual preferences dictate whether the simple past or the present perfect is used. In other words, one American English writer may choose the simple past in a place where another American English writer may choose the present perfect. Keep in mind, however, that the simple past is used for a completed action.  It often is used with signal words or phrases such as "yesterday," "last week," "1 year ago," or "in 2015" to indicate the specific time in the past when the action took place. I went to China in 2010 . He completed the employee performance reviews last month . The present perfect focuses more on an action that occurred without focusing on the specific time it happened. Note that the specific time is not given, just that the action has occurred. I have travelled to China. The present perfect focuses more on the result of the action. He has completed the employee performance reviews. The present perfect is often used with signal words such as "since," "already," "just," "until now," "(not) yet," "so far," "ever," "lately," or "recently." I have already travelled to China. He has recently completed the employee performance reviews. Researchers have used this method since it was developed. Summary of English Verb Tenses The 12 main tenses: Simple present : She writes every day. Present progressive: She is writing right now. Simple past : She wrote last night. Past progressive: She was writing when he called. Simple future : She will write tomorrow. Future progressive: She will be writing when you arrive. Present perfect : She has written Chapter 1. Present perfect progressive: She has been writing for 2 hours. Past perfect: She had written Chapter 3 before she started Chapter 4. Past perfect progressive: She had been writing for 2 hours before her friends arrived. Future perfect: She will have written Chapter 4 before she writes Chapter 5. Future perfect progressive: She will have been writing for 2 hours by the time her friends come over. Conditionals: Zero conditional (general truths/general habits). Example: If I have time, I write every day. First conditional (possible or likely things in the future). Example: If I have time, I will write every day. Second conditional (impossible things in the present/unlikely in the future). Example : If I had time, I would write every day. Third conditional (things that did not happen in the past and their imaginary results) Example : If I had had time, I would have written every day. Subjunctive : This form is sometimes used in that -clauses that are the object of certain verbs or follow certain adjectives. The form of the subjective is the simple form of the verb. It is the same for all persons and number. Example : I recommend that he study every day. Example: It is important that everyone set a writing schedule. Verbs Video Playlist Note that these videos were created while APA 6 was the style guide edition in use. There may be some examples of writing that have not been updated to APA 7 guidelines. Grammar for Academic Writers: Common Verb Tenses in Academic Writing (video transcript) Grammar for Academic Writers: Verb Tense Consistency (video transcript) Grammar for Academic Writers: Advanced Subject–Verb Agreement (video transcript) Mastering the Mechanics: Helping Verbs (video transcript) Mastering the Mechanics: Past Tense (video transcript) Mastering the Mechanics: Present Tense (video transcript) Mastering the Mechanics: Future Tense (video transcript) Related Resources Knowledge Check: Verb Tenses Didn't find what you need? Email us at [email protected] . Previous Page: Comparisons Next Page: Verb Forms: "-ing," Infinitives, and Past Participles Office of Student Disability Services Walden Resources Departments. 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Using the Present Tense with Works; or, Othello Still Exists It is customary to use the present tense when discussing a literary work: Othello is a play by Shakespeare. It begins on a street in Venice, where Roderigo and Iago are arguing . Some of the themes of Othello are racism, love, jealousy, and betrayal. Like other Shakespearean tragedies, Othello has five acts. The play ends with Othello’s murder of Desdemona and with the revelation of Iago’s motives. Likewise, use the present tense to describe the actions of characters and the movement of plot: In act 3 Iago persuades Othello that there is reason to doubt Desdemona’s faithfulness, and in the final act Othello confronts Desdemona and then strangles her to death. The rationale for using the present tense when discussing a work is that the work exists in the present just as it existed earlier: Othello always has five acts and always ends with the same actions. The principle applies to works of all sorts, from literary criticism to films to websites: William Hazlitt’s Characters of Shakespeare’s Plays contrasts expressions of passion and violence in Othello and Macbeth . A 1965 film version of Othello stars Laurence Olivier. The blog Bard Film analyzes references to Shakespeare in popular films. By extension, you may also use the present tense when the subject is not the work itself but the work’s author, if the work is implied. In the following examples, “in Othello ” is implied: [In Othello ] Shakespeare gives Iago, an archetypal villain, an important role. By identifying Othello as a Moor, Shakespeare introduces both racial and religious issues [in Othello ]. Acceptable Uses of the Past Tense If you’re primarily discussing the historical context of a work, however, use the past tense: By identifying Othello as a Moor, Shakespeare introduced both racial and religious issues to early modern playgoers. Use care when choosing between the past and present tense. A good rule of thumb is to consider whether the principal context of your discussion is textual or historical. When the context is clearly historical, the choice of the past tense is obvious: Othello was first performed in 1604, at Whitehall Palace in London. Shakespeare composed Othello about fifteen years after Marlowe wrote Tamberlaine . Aim for Consistency Above all, aim for consistency and try to avoid frequent shifts in tense, which can be jarring for readers. It’s easy to shift tenses without realizing it. Here’s an example that uses tenses inconsistently: For the plot of Othello , Shakespeare adapts a sixteenth-century Italian tale, while Christopher Marlowe based his play Tamberlaine on the life of an Asian emperor. In this sentence about the sources of Elizabethan dramatists it would be better to keep the verb tenses consistent and use adapted and based . Here’s another example of tense shifting: The details of Othello’s narrative come from medieval and early modern travel books, some of which described fantastic creatures. The author uses the present tense for the main text under discussion, but for the other texts—the travel books—switches to the past tense. The switch is understandable: the travel books inspired Othello’s narrative in the past, when the narrative was created. Using the present tense consistently, however, would accurately reflect the status of all the texts mentioned in the sentence as works that exist in the present: The details of Othello’s narrative come from medieval and early modern travel books, some of which describe fantastic creatures. A word of caution for copyeditors: if an author uses the past or present tense in a consistent manner when discussing works, pause before you follow an impulse to change the tenses, especially if such an intervention would be extensive. The author may have sound reasons for his or her choices, and you would do better to query before you impose one tense over another. If you encounter frequent shifting of tenses for no discernible reason, revising for consistency is a good idea. marian 06 October 2019 AT 07:10 PM When quoting literature that is originally written in the past tense, which tense should be used to introduce the text - present or past? Example for essay on Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome: When Ethan and Mattie return from town, they, “passed into the kitchen, which had the deadly chill of a vault after the dry cold of the night." Writing an academic essay for a Literature course, I should write in the present tense and I should be consistent with tense. Which rule applies here? Your e-mail address will not be published Erika Suffern 07 October 2019 AT 08:10 AM The way you have written it is correct. Don't change the verb tenses in quoted material. Veronica M. Schuder 12 December 2020 AT 04:12 PM The second use of this word, which occurs when Mrs Mallard sits down and “abandoned herself” (756), offers an alternative meaning. That sounds wrong. Can I change the tense to present with brackets: “abandon[s] herself” (756). ????? Erika Suffern 14 December 2020 AT 09:12 AM The short answer is yes. For additional guidance, please see our post on changing verb tenses in quotations: https://style.mla.org/using-brackets-to-change-tense/ Professor Rosalind Horowitz 10 March 2021 AT 12:03 PM In the study of ancient Judaic literature, for example, Rashi, a brilliant commentator of texts, we always use the present tense to show that the scholarship is not archaic but still relevant and useful to current life. It is a way of putting the text inside the contemporary world. Sara 16 June 2022 AT 05:06 PM When writing about a text in MLA should you write in simple present or present continuous? or does it not matter? Join the Conversation We invite you to comment on this post and exchange ideas with other site visitors. Comments are moderated and subject to terms of service. If you have a question for the MLA's editors, submit it to Ask the MLA! 300 COMMENTS The use of tenses in a literature review Learn when to use past, present or present perfect tense in a literature review, depending on your focus and context. See examples, tips and links to external reading on the topic. Verb tense Learn how to use verb tenses consistently in APA Style papers, especially in literature reviews. See examples of past, present, and future tenses for different paper sections. Mastering Verb Tenses in Literature Reviews Learn how to use past, present, and past perfect tenses correctly in literature reviews. See examples, explanations, and tips from a nursing journal editor. Ten Simple Rules for Writing a Literature Review In addition to critical thinking, a literature review needs consistency, for example in the choice of passive vs. active voice and present vs. past tense. Rule 7: Find a Logical Structure Like a well-baked cake, a good review has a number of telling features: it is worth the reader's time, timely, systematic, well written, focused, and critical. What is the correct tense to use in a literature review? 8. Generally speaking any are acceptable. If you focus on the authors then "did show" or "have shown" feels about right. But if you take the citation to mean the paper itself, then the present tense is fine since the paper still exists and does still show... However, advisors can be a bit picky on some such things, so it would be good to ask ... A Complete Guide on How to Write Good a Literature Review Yes, the literature review should ideally be written in the past tense. You should not use the present or future tense when writing one. The exceptions are when you have statements describing events that happened earlier than the literature you are reviewing or events that are currently occurring; then, you can use the past perfect or present ... Mastering Verb Tenses in Literature Reviews 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. Tenses There are exceptions however, most notably in the literature review where you will use a mixture of past, present and present perfect tenses (don't worry, that is explained below), when discussing the implications of your findings when the present tense is appropriate and in the recommendations where you are likely to use the future tense. Mastering Verb Tenses in Literature Reviews Identify the most appropriate verb tense for each sentence in the literature review section of a manuscript. Although past tense is the most common one, past perfect and present perfect tenses may be appropriate for sentences describing something that occurred earlier than another study or something that is still occurring. Author's Background How to Write a Literature Review Examples of literature reviews. Step 1 - Search for relevant literature. Step 2 - Evaluate and select sources. Step 3 - Identify themes, debates, and gaps. Step 4 - Outline your literature review's structure. Step 5 - Write your literature review. GUIDELINES FOR WRITING THE LITERATURE REVIEW The tenses often used are simple past, present perfect and simple present. Such a range is perfectly acceptable and there are several reasons that influence the choice of tense. Simple Past Tense tends to be the most frequently used tense to refer to the findings of another author's research. The past tense is also most commonly used when the ... Q: What tenses should be used in the literature write-up? Answer: By 'literature write-up,' we understand you mean 'literature review.'. Now, do you mean an entire paper that is a literature review or only the literature review section of the paper that typically comes in the Introduction? Anyway, the answer is: it depends, and it's quite possible to have multiple tenses in the literature ... Use of verb tenses in APA, Chicago and MLA styles Referring to the ideas of other researchers (e.g. in a literature review) No matter how long ago the work was published, the present tense is used, and even a deceased author 'argues' or 'claims'. Simple present tense. Vasquez and Lopez argue that… Present perfect tense. Bailey has outlined… Discussing the actions of characters in ... Verb tenses in scientific writing: Which tense should you use? Literature review verb tense. For the literature review, most academic editors recommend using the past simple or present perfect when talking about past research. Use the past simple to discuss what was done in the past (the authors collected, investigated, analyzed, etc.). Use present perfect to talk about findings from previous studies that ... What tenses should be used in the research paper and thesis? The most Ideally, Chapter 1 (introduction) should be past tense, chapter 2 (literature) can be present or past depending on how you quote, chapter 3( methodology) definitely past tense, chapter 4( results ... writing 2. Either past or present tense is reasonable for a literature survey. You could argue for the past tense since the work was already completed, or use the present tense because the papers currently exist and describe something that can be found now. The main issue is to be consistent in your usage throughout the review. Share. Improve this answer. Academic Guides: Grammar and Mechanics: Verb Tenses Use the past tense (e.g., researchers presented) or the present perfect (e.g., researchers have presented) for the literature review and the description of the procedure if discussing past events. Use the past tense to describe the results (e.g., test scores improved significantly). PDF Literary present tense Literary works, paintings, films, and other artistic creations are assumed to exist in an eternal present. Therefore, when you write about writers or artists as they express themselves in their work, use the present tense. The Basic Rule: You should use the past tense when discussing historical events, and you should use the literary present ... What tense should I use? Literature Review Guide: What tense should I use? How to create Literature reviews. What is a Literature Review? How to start? Search strategies and Databases. Examples of Literature Reviews. Overview of verb tenses and APA recommendations for tense usage in 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 or present perfect tense is appropriate for the literature review and the description of the procedure if the discussion is of past ... Verb Tenses Use the past tense (e.g., researchers presented) or the present perfect (e.g., researchers have presented) for the literature review and the description of the procedure if discussing past events. Use the past tense to describe the results (e.g., test scores improved significantly). Use the present tense to discuss implications of the results ... The Use of Tense in Literature Review A recent flurry of tweets, seemingly initiated by @thesiswhisperer, discussed the use of tense in literature review. There doesn't seem to be a definitive rule to using either present or past tense (i.e. Smith (1989) argues… vs. Smith (1989) argued… etc.), though switching from one to the other can be problematic and should only be done ... Using the Present Tense with Works; or, Othello Still Exists It is customary to use the present tense when discussing a literary work: Othello is a play by Shakespeare. It begins on a street in Venice, where Roderigo and Iago are arguing.. Some of the themes of Othello are racism, love, jealousy, and betrayal.. Like other Shakespearean tragedies, Othello has five acts. The play ends with Othello's murder of Desdemona and with the revelation of Iago ... assignment essay homework paper phd report review speech thesis