Verb Tense in Academic Literature Reviews: An Academic Writing Guide

When writing an academic literature review—the part of your paper that situates your work within existing research—one of the most common questions is: Which verb tense should I use? 

Verb tense in academic literature reviews isn’t just a grammatical detail—it’s a tool for clarity and authority. Choosing the right tense helps your literature review flow smoothly, reflect the research timeline accurately, and highlight findings that remain relevant today.

Let’s break down past, present, and present perfect tenses in action. 

Past Tense – Reporting Specific Studies 

Use past tense when describing what individual researchers did or discovered. This emphasizes that the study has already been conducted and clearly places the findings in time. 

Examples: 

• Virtanen (2014) measured the impact of exercise on cognitive performance. 
• Lee and Chen (2020) conducted interviews with 50 participants to explore interest levels. 

Tips for using past tense: 

• Use for specific past experiments or historical findings 
• Avoid past tense for conclusions still valid today 

Past tense grounds your literature review in established research, helping readers follow the historical context. 

Present Tense – Stating Current Understanding 

Use present tense when discussing findings, concepts, or theories that remain current and relevant. This signals that the knowledge is widely accepted or still applies. 

Examples: 

• Research conducted at the University of Rovaniemi suggests that constant stress impairs motivation. 
• Cognitive load theory explains how mental effort affects learning outcomes. 
• Chomsky (1965) argues that humans have an innate capacity for language. (Even though the work was published in 1965, the claim is still accepted.) 

Tips for using present tense: 

• Use for general conclusions, widely accepted theories, or established frameworks 
• Use for ongoing debates and current understanding 

Present tense positions your literature review within current debates, emphasizing the relevance of ongoing research. 

Present Perfect Tense – Linking Past Research to Current Understanding 

Use present perfect tense to connect past findings to today’s context. This tense is particularly useful for summarizing trends, patterns, or ongoing debates in your literature review. 

Examples: 

• Researchers in Turku have explored the impact of digital media on attention spans. 
• Multiple studies have demonstrated that mindfulness interventions improve student focus (Hernandez 2020, Suomalainen 2022, Zhang 2023). 
• Martinez (2018) and Nieminen (2020) have investigated how urban green spaces influence air quality and residents’ well-being. 

Tips for using present perfect: 

• Use to highlight trends or findings still relevant today 
• Works well when summarizing multiple studies collectively 
• Helps bridge past research with current understanding and debates 

Present perfect tense keeps your literature review cohesive and forward-looking, showing how past studies inform current research. 

Using Multiple Verb Tenses Together

Sometimes, a single section requires more than one tense. For example, you might summarize a past study while noting that its conclusions remain accepted today. You can also use multiple tenses to contrast earlier beliefs with current research findings. 

Examples: 

• Patel (2019) conducted a series of field studies and argues that urban rooftop gardens reduce local temperatures and improve residents’ well-being. 
• Jonsson (2002) argued that aerobic exercise is best for improving cardiovascular health, but recent research (Cavaliere 2020) suggests that high-intensity interval training may be more effective. 

Tips for using multiple tenses: 

• Keep the logic clear: past = what was done, present = what still holds, present perfect = trends or cumulative findings 
• Use past tense for methods or experiments and present tense for ongoing conclusions
• Use different tenses to contrast past research with current findings 
• Avoid unnecessary switches mid-sentence unless highlighting contrast or development 

Practical Tips for Verb Tense in Academic Literature Reviews 

• Highlight chronology: past = older studies, present = findings still accepted today 
• Focus on clarity: choosing the right tense should make your writing easier to follow
• Be consistent within sentences and paragraphs—random shifts confuse readers

By mastering verb tense in your literature review, you guide readers smoothly through past studies while highlighting relevance today—strengthening both clarity and credibility.