时态

学术论文讲究严谨性，这不仅体现在专业水平上，还在于语言的细节方面。但是由于英语不是母语，所以在写作时可能会出现各种我们自身没有意识到的错误。今天就来分享一下关于时态的写作注意事项，以帮助大家创作一篇更好的论文。

过去式

如果你描述的是为获得结果而做的事情，如进行实验或模拟，或处理数据，那么一般应该使用过去式。如果你描述的是在这些结果中发现的东西，也是如此。（这意味着你论文的大部分内容，特别是方法和结果部分，可能应该用过去式来写。） 例如：

正确写法：

The temperature was recorded every 10 minutes. (Or: We recorded the temperature every 10 minutes.)

The average length of the specimens was found to be 6 mm.

错误写法：

Record the temperature every 10 minutes. (Or: The temperature is recorded every 10 minutes.)

The average length of the specimens is found to be 6 mm. (Or: We find the average length of the specimens to be 6 mm.)

在某些情况下，使用不同的时态可能更合适，但如果不确定用什么时态，在描述已经发生的事情时最好使用过去时态。

这也适用于描述别人做了什么。例如：

Smith et al. (2011) proposed a method to distinguish between these two phenomena.

Changes in mean sea temperature as a function of such activity were investigated by Baxter and Cumberdale (1988), and they concluded that…

错误写法：

Smith et al. (2011) propose a method to distinguish between these two phenomena.

Changes in mean sea temperature as a function of such activity are investigated by Baxter and Cumberdale (1988), and they conclude that…

这也表明引言部分的文献综述等部分大多以过去时写。

现在时

论文中的一些句子陈述事实或描述一般结论应该用现在时。这可能包括简介的某些部分，例如：

This article presents the results of a study examining…

在概述当前对某个主题的理解时，还可以陈述已知的事情：

The intensity of an electromagnetic wave is inversely proportional to the square of the distance from its source.

尽管图表展示的是过去获得的结果，但它们应该以现在时来指代。例如：

The results of the analysis are listed in Table 2.

Figure 6 shows a plot of the results.

错误写法：

The results of the analysis were listed in Table 2.

The results were plotted in Figure 6.

在论文中得出的结论也应该是现在时。例如：

From these results, it is clear that the pressure in such a system decreases with increasing volume.

将来时

在论文写作中不常用到将来时态，使用它的最常见原因是在描述未来将要进行的工作时的结论或讨论部分：

In future experiments, we will examine the relationship between…

但是也可以偶尔用它来描述已知事实或预测：

By 2030, it is expected that nearly 76% of electricity will be generated using…

In approximately 5 billion years, the sun will run out of hydrogen to fuse, and it will eventually become a red giant.

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