I am currently working on a thesis on children’s books where I often have to refer to something written in these stories. Do I do this in the present tense (because it is still in that book) or in the past tense?
Eg:
This booklet is written for older children and mainly explains genetics. The importance of the social parent is emphasized.
OR
This booklet was written for older children and mainly explained genetics. The importance of the social parent was emphasized.
Answer
Dear Annelies,
When discussing a book, you normally use the present tense. However, if you want to emphasize a contrast between ideas from different periods, you can exceptionally use the past tense to refer to the older, outdated book, and the present tense for the book describing the current view. For example: “Author X stated in book A that … . More recent critics, however, label this interpretation as naive and short-sighted. For example, author Y points out in book B that … .”
Answered by
Prof. dr. dr. Stef Craps
http://www.ugent.be
.