When to Use The Simple Past Tense
Referring to your own research or someone else’s
- Olden (2017) recruited 17 participants for the study.
- We transcribed and coded the interviews before analyzing the results.
Reporting the results of your research
- All of the focus group participants agreed that the new version was an improvement.
- We found a positive correlation between the variables, but it was not as strong as we hypothesized.
Describing historical events
- James Joyce pioneered the modernist use of stream of consciousness.
- Donald Trump’s election in 2016 contradicted the predictions of commentators.
Summarizing previous work
- Many researchers have investigated the effects of poverty on health.
- Studies have shown a link between cancer and red meat consumption.
