Tense for scientific work

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At the latest during your studies you will hardly be able to avoid the topic of scientific work, either as part of a written term paper or seminar paper or for research projects for which you will end up with a research report have to write. The tense in which you write can vary depending on the context in which your explanations and explanations are to be placed.

The tense of your scientific work depends on the context of your explanations.
The tense of your scientific work depends on the context of your explanations.

The approach to a scientific paper

  1. Before you start writing, you must first define the topic and the problem.
  2. Then you dedicate yourself to literature research and the selection of materials. When doing this, make sure that you choose reliable and reputable sources.
  3. After you have your literature and have researched the material, go to the evaluation of the material. First, create an outline to use as your guide as you write.
  4. Then you start with the written and systematic elaboration of the literature and material. The tense in which you write your scientific work depends on the context of your explanations and lines of thought.

Worth knowing about the tense of scientific work

As a rule, you should write both scientific and humanities papers in the present tense. This applies to your own statements and thoughts as well as to external sources.

Interpretation and the correct tense - that is what you should pay attention to

Interpretations are mostly a chagrin of the learners, especially in German lessons ...

  • However, it is also possible that you explain certain facts in a different tense. This is the case, for example, when you state an execution by a deceased scientist: "XY already dealt extensively with this topic and gave the mass media an important function to."
  • Or, if you are interested in research or If studies refer to the future, choose the future tense as the tense: "The German market research institute will publish a study on this in the coming year."
  • Make sure, however, that you do not allow too many leaps in time to flow into your scientific work. That just confuses the reader.

As you can see, the opinion of many that a scientific paper should only be written in the present tense is not entirely true. Although this is the predominant tense, it is not the only one.

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