USE OF TENSE IN SCIENTIFIC WRITING « Use the present tense when a fact has been published Generalizations, references to stable conditions, and general “truths” should be given in present tense. Serological tests are commonly used for the diagnosed of T. cruzi infections. Several recent reports [2, 3, 4] describe similar findings. The investigations of Graff (1987) show that the structure is a true preithecium. « Use present perfect tense for repeated events ‘Have/has been’ construction is appropriate when observations have been repeated or continued for the past to the present. Nesting behavior has been studied under many environmental conditions. The drugg has been shown to produce significant elevations in blood pressure. * Use past tense to discuss results that cannot be generalized Some results have been obtained under such specialized conditions that they pertain only to the particular study being reported, eg. numerical data Barber (1980) reported that 28% of the 396 wasps in his study showed signs of parasitism. * Use the past tense for unpublished results The research being reported for the first time in the paper that you are writing will not be established knowledge until after it has been published. Therefore, use past tense to describe what you have done. In the study presented here, the drug killed 95% of the Mauberculosis baci.