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What verb tense do I use for an APA style paper?

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Answered By: Linda Kern
Last Updated: Dec 12, 2016     Views: 135055

The APA manual discusses tense in the section on Smoothness of Expression on Page 65. The lit review of an APA style paper should be in past tense (The researchers found...) or present perfect (The researchers have shown...). The methodology should be in past tense if it has already happened. The results section of the paper should also be in past tense, and implications of the results and conclusions in present tense.

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