{"id":5578,"date":"2017-10-23T17:00:19","date_gmt":"2017-10-24T00:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kibin.com\/blog\/?post_type=essay-writing-blog&p=5578"},"modified":"2020-09-18T13:47:47","modified_gmt":"2020-09-18T20:47:47","slug":"literary-present-tense-need-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kibin.com\/essay-writing-blog\/literary-present-tense-need-know\/","title":{"rendered":"Literary Present Tense: Everything You Need to Know"},"content":{"rendered":"

Back in the day\u2014when you were in elementary school\u2014you learned about past tense, present tense, and future tense. You\u2019ve gotten along all this time knowing these three basic tenses.<\/p>\n

But now your prof has thrown out the term \u201cliterary present tense,\u201d and it has put you into a slight tailspin.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t worry\u2014it\u2019s not a completely new type of tense. Literary present tense means that you need to write in present tense when writing about literature and the arts.<\/p>\n

Need a more concise and complete explanation? Here\u2019s what you need to know.<\/p>\n

What Is Literary Present Tense?<\/h2>\n

For most purposes, \u201cliterary present tense\u201d is the same as present tense. It\u2019s called literary present tense to remind you that, when discussing literature and other arts, such as artwork or films, you need to write in present tense.<\/p>\n

Keep in mind that when I say \u201cdiscussing literature,\u201d this applies both to the discussions about literature you might have in class and to writing a literary analysis essay<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Why Present Tense?<\/h2>\n

When writing about literature and the arts, you need to assume that you\u2019re discussing the artistic work in the perpetual present, meaning that it\u2019s always there, always present.<\/p>\n

Think of it this way. The Shining<\/i> is the same book today as it was when it was written, and it will exist in the same form years from now. Thus, you\u2019ll write about the arts in present tense.<\/p>\n

This is different than writing about other subjects, such as history or science. Historical events occurred in the past, so they’re written about in past tense.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re writing about your science experiment, you completed the experiment in the past. That means you\u2019ll write about it in past tense too. The same is true for studies or experiments you learn about in your research.<\/p>\n

Scientists conducted the experiments in the past, so you\u2019ll write about the experiments in past tense. (NOTE:<\/strong> If you\u2019re writing in a science class, you\u2019ll most likely cite in APA<\/a> and always write in the past tense<\/a> when discussing the steps and results of your experiment.)<\/p>\n\t

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Can You Give Me a Few Examples?<\/h2>\n

Of course I have a few examples up my sleeve to help clarify literary present tense! Check out the below examples of how to use the correct tense in your writing.<\/p>\n

Use literary present tense when writing about literature or other arts<\/h3>\n

Whether you\u2019re writing about the work as a whole or writing about specific characters and their actions, use literary present tense.<\/p>\n

Here are four examples:<\/strong><\/p>\n