By Present tenses, Essays

I suggest that you try putting the whole thing into past simple, and then try writing about it in past simple. That might make it easier to understand. But when I expresses the author's view on the story, do I use present tense? Let's say this is what I have to write about this story: 1. In...

I think you can see from the above para that it makes just as much (if not, from your point of view - more) sense in the simple past Even when I'm writing essays? This is okay? But how come in your writing you jump from past to present tense from time to time? So if I want to refer back to...

Thank you very much Abbie. I still have some trouble with the tenses. I still don't understand how to talk about a story, how to communicate my ideas. Should I use present or past? When the author talks about Ann's life in the past, the author uses past and present. When the author uses past,...

Hi Pilita, My own 2 cents: 1. Literary analysis is normally done in present tense (that normally includes the plot summary). You keep going between present and past tense, which is a little confusing. 2. You've repeated quite a few phrases here and there, and the repetition makes your essay...

1. In this story she uses it to describe her first born, her baby without a name, no home, and address when she is born. (For essays I write in the present tense right? Should I use 'is' or 'was' here?) 2. In this story she uses it to describe her first born, her baby without a name, no home,...

Thanks a lot for your replies, but I'm still confused. The essay topic is "What would you do if your child were caught shoplifting?" It asks a class of 17-year-old students to pretend that they are parents now. So I thought every move the 17-year-old hypothetical parent makes in his essay should...

Thanks a lot for your replies. The essay topic is "What would you do if your child were caught shoplifting?" It asks a class of 17-year-old students to pretend that they are parents now. So I thought every move the 17-year-old hypothetical parent makes in his essay should be written in...

I saw this article from the web and I think it is worth to post part of the article in this forum. Following is the article ...AND REPORTED SPEECH Dear English Doctor, Please explain about word changes in reported speech. If you say to me "My sister is going to Chiang Mai", I can report...

I agree. This problem is a headache. Two principles contradict one another: 1) After a past tense of verbs of reporting, knowing, etc., continue in the past tense. 2) If something which is still true or universally true is reported or known, use the present tense. Conclusion: You can use...