Tense of Reporting in Dissertation Literature Reviews

The tense realization of reporting verbs in each literature review (LR) 1is, in a sense, individualistic and particular to each situation. In spite of this, LRs follow certain patterns shared by the peers and the audiences of the writer, since one of the writer’s primary goals in writing a dissertation LR is to convey his mental imagery to his peers and his audiences. This article shows that tense choice is an important element not only in dissertations but also in LRs in all the disciplines. Thus, it is important to make students and novice writers of academic research aware of such usage and able to construe their writing on the bases of the prior research, by commenting on advantages and drawbacks, pointing out gaps and establishing their own research spaces.