How to Use the Correct Tense in Technical Writing

Using the correct tenses within a sentence is always taught at school. Whatever your current level while studying in any schools, institutions or universities, English courses always remind us about the correct way of using tenses.

There are a lot of tenses of the verb and we are all aware of that. Depending upon how the action takes place in your sentences, it is important to identify their differences, determine the correct way of using tenses and when you are going to use them in your sentences.

it’s not actually right to use the wrong tense or even mix all tenses in any parts of your content. This will eventually make your writing bad and ineffective.

Sometimes, your credibility as a writer is at stake and you can even cause your readers to get confuse on what you are writing.

It is not a good idea at all to write whatever you like and submit it without any hesitations of editing your work.

Being guided with the rules on how to write tenses is very important in writing. you don’t have to move forward in your writing task without correcting your work through editing and revising.

In any technical writing, you have to focus about the current standing of your topic. What you need to keep in mind always is that the “here and now” way of writing your tenses is the necessary thing to do.

Sometimes, you have to include certain events that have a relevant connection to your topic. That is why, altering the use of your verbs in you content should take place. Like for example, moving the past events that had happen into the present standing of the issue or present to the future in order to show the sequence in your writing.

When writing technical documents, it’s always advised to focus your verbs on the present tense – right here, right now. Sure, there will be instances when shifting to past or future makes sense, but when you’re in doubt, going with the “here and now” is always the smart play.

Sequence

Staying in the present is very important when describing the operation of a machine or a piece of software. When you describe two events that succeed each other, it’s only normal to expect to move into the future tense. However, because computers and many modern electronics are so advanced, it’s more fitting to stay in the present, which helps imply the instantaneous nature of their sequence.

A Short Delay

In cases of short delays, such as the 30 seconds it will take a program to install before you can use it, you shouldn’t let the gap move your tense to the future either. Stay in real time, but do let the user know that the next step proceeds after half a minute.

Use Present Progressive

When a future tense actually makes sense, try to construct the statement using the present progressive first. If it remains accurate, then going into the future tense may no longer be necessary.

Technical Writing Software

If in doubt, consult your technical writing software (if you have one) or refer to your manual.

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Category: Writing
Keywords: correct tense, technical writing, verb tense

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