I noticed that in video writing task 1 video no 3, you used a present tense/present perfect. I am just wondering because its year 2017 now.
in my exam i know i need to be careful with my tenses. I mean how would i know what tense to use.
Hi Mariel, Good question. To know which tense to use think about the context and the question. ***In academic writing the rule is to use present tense as much as possible. This is because the present tense makes information currently relevant and interesting.
In the speaking section, listen carefully for the tenses used in the questions, make sure to reflect the same tense in your answers.
ok, so you mean if there is no given date in writing, i will assume to use the present tense?
How abut if the data was in the past, like it says in the year 2000 to 2005 still i have to use present tense?
It’s just because i have seen some sample writing and those with given year, i noticed that the tenses are in the past.
thank you.
Hi Marial,
Okay, so when you are referring to the time period of the data, use the past tense. For example, “People in the Uk in 2004 ate 2 million tonnes of chicken”
*However, it you are referring to the graph (which shows information in the present) make sure to use present tense. Ex. The graphs shows that people in the UK eat 2 million tonnes of chicken in 2005.
Keep up the good studies.
