Tense Use in Academic Writing Past, Present and Future

Tense Use in Academic Writing Past, Present and Future Tense Use in Academic Writing: Past, Present and Future While the dreary constraints of physical reality mean that we’re stuck in the present for all practical purposes, in speech or writing we can skip from past to present to future at will. To do this, you’ll need to master the past, present and future tense. These grammatical tenses are useful in all kinds of writing, but here we’ll focus on their use in academic work. What is Grammatical Tense? Before anything else, we need to quickly clarify what we mean by â€Å"grammatical tense.† The main thing you need to know is that the form of the verb in a sentence changes depending on when the action described occurs. As such, by modifying a sentence to adjust the tense, we can change its meaning: Present Tense: Alfred burns the cakes. Past Tense: Alfred burned the cakes. Future Tense: Alfred will burn the cakes. In the first example, the present tense verb â€Å"burns† suggests that it’s happening now. The past tense verb â€Å"burned†, however, shows that it has already happened. And by adding the helping verb â€Å"will,† we can instead suggest that the action is going to happen in the future. Looks like the dog will eat them anyway. The examples above are the simple forms of each of these tenses. There are many variations on these, however, so it’s worth checking how each form differs in practice. The Past Tense in Academic Writing In an academic paper, you could use the past tense to show that an idea is not widely accepted any more. In the following, for instance, the past tense â€Å"claimed† and â€Å"has since been disputed† both signal that the study no longer applies: Cook and Moore (1964) originally claimed that profane language is amusing, although this has since been disputed by many experts. Pete and Dud: Pioneering researchers in the profane. The past tense is also commonly used in academic writing when describing the methods used in an experiment that has already been conducted: The sample was tested using several techniques. Some colleges have specific instructions for how a methodology chapter should be written, though, so make sure to check for rules about tense use in your style guide. The Present Tense in Academic Writing The present tense is dominant in most forms of academic work, since it applies when writing about current events or states of being. This includes describing: Existing facts and theories (e.g., â€Å"Profane language is common among young people†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ) The findings of a study (e.g., â€Å"The results demonstrate that†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ) The opinions or claims of other thinkers (e.g., â€Å"Cook and Moore argue that†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ) The present tense is usually correct even when describing a study that happened in the past, as long as the conclusions are still relevant in the present. The Future Tense in Academic Writing The future tense is less common in academic writing, but it still has a couple of important roles. One is in research proposals, since you’ll need to describe your research aims, predictions about results, and the methods you intend to use: This study will examine the role of profane language in comedy. We predict that profane language will be considered hilarious by the majority of respondents. The future tense is also useful when recommending fresh avenues of research or suggesting how the results of a study could be applied: Our study suggests that further research should be conducted into the increasing use of profane language in everyday life. The crucial thing is that the future tense is used when describing something that hasn’t yet happened or that is expected to occur in the future. Think of it as academic fortune telling. Or dont.(Photo: David Shankbone)

The Ancient History of Making Olive Oil

The Ancient History of Making Olive Oil Olive oil is, essentially, a fruit juice made from olives. Olives were likely first domesticated in the Mediterranean basin some 6,000 years ago or so. It is thought that oil from the olive was one of several attributes that likely made the bitter fruit attractive enough to result in its domestication. However, the production of olive oil, that is to say, the deliberate pressing of oil out of olives  is currently documented no earlier than ~2500 BCE. Olive oil is a fruit juice made from olives.  First used as lamp fuel and in religious ceremonies in the Mediterranean about 2500 BCE.  First used in cooking at least as long ago as 5th-4th century BCE.  Three grades of olive oil are manufactured: extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), ordinary virgin olive oil, and pomace-olive oil (OPO). EVOO is the highest quality and the one most often fraudulently labeled.   Olive oil was used anciently for a  variety of purposes, including lamp fuel, pharmaceutical ointment, and in rituals for anointing royalty, warriors, and other important people. The term messiah, used in many Mediterranean-based religions, means the anointed one, perhaps (but of course, not necessarily) referring to an olive oil-based ritual. Cooking with olive oil may not have been a purpose for the original domesticators, but that began at least as long ago as the 5th–4th century BCE. Making Olive Oil Making olive oil involved (and still does) several stages of crushing and rinsing to extract the oil. The olives were harvested by hand or by beating the fruit off the trees. The olives were then washed and crushed to remove the pits. The remaining pulp was placed into woven bags or baskets, and the baskets themselves were then pressed. Hot water was poured over the pressed bags to wash out any remaining oil, and the dregs of the pulp was washed away. The liquid from the pressed bags was drawn into a reservoir where the oil was left to settle and separate. Then the oil was drawn off, by skimming the oil off by hand or with the use of a ladle; by opening a stoppered hole at the bottom of the reservoir tank; or by allowing the water to drain off from a channel at the top of the reservoir. In cold weather, a bit of salt was added to speed the separation process. After the oil was separated, the oil was again allowed to settle in vats made for that purpose, and then separated again. Olive Press Machinery Roman olive presses in the city of Sufetula, Tunisia. CM Dixon/Print Collector/Getty Images Artifacts found at archaeological sites associated with making oil include milling stones, decantation basins and storage vessels such as mass-produced amphorae with olive plant residues. Historical documentation in the form of frescoes and ancient papyri have also been found at sites throughout the Mediterranean Bronze Age, and production techniques and uses of olive oil are recorded in the classical manuscripts of Pliny the Elder and Vitruvius. Several olive press machines were devised by the Mediterranean Romans and Greeks to mechanize the pressing process, and are called variously trapetum, mola molearia, canallis et solea, torcular, prelum, and tudicula. These machines were all similar and used levers and counterweights to increase the pressure on the baskets, to extract as much oil as possible. Traditional presses can generate about 50 gallons (200 liters) of oil and 120 gal (450 li) of amurca from one ton of olives. Amurca: Olive Oil Byproducts The leftover water from the milling process is called amurca in Latin and amorge in Greek, and it is a watery, bitter-tasting, smelly, liquid residue. This liquid was collected from a central depression in the settling vats. Amurca, which had and has a bitter taste and an even worse smell, was discarded along with the dregs. Then and today, amurca is a serious pollutant, with a high mineral salt content, low pH and the presence of phenols. However, in the Roman period, it was said to have had several uses. When spread on surfaces, amurca forms a hard finish; when boiled it can be used to grease axles, belts, shoes, and hides. It is edible by animals and was used to treat malnutrition in livestock. It was prescribed to treat wounds, ulcers, dropsy, erysipelas, gout, and chilblains. According to some ancient texts, amurca was used in moderate amounts as a fertilizer or pesticide, repressing insects, weeds, and even voles. Amurca was also used to make plaster, particularly applied to the floors of granaries, where it hardened and kept out mud and the pest species. It was also used to seal olive jars, improve the burning of firewood and, added to laundry, could help protect clothing from moths. Industrialization The Romans are responsible for bringing about a significant increase in olive oil production beginning between 200 BCE and 200 CE. Olive oil production became semi-industrialized at sites such as Hendek Kale in Turkey, Byzacena in Tunisia and Tripolitania, in Libya, where 750 separate olive oil production sites have been identified. Estimates of oil production during the Roman era are that up to 30 million liters (8 million gallons) per year was produced in Tripolitania, and up to 10.5 million gal  (40 million li) in Byzacena. Plutarch reports that Caesar forced Tripolitanias inhabitants to pay a tribute of 250,000 gals (1 million li) in 46 BCE. Oileries are also reported from the first and second centuries AD in the Guadalquivir valley of Andalusia in Spain, where average annual yields were estimated at between 5 and 26 million gal (20 and 100 million li). Archaeological investigations at Monte Testaccio recovered evidence suggesting that Rome imported approximately 6.5 billion liters of olive oil over the period of 260 years. What Is EVOO? Olive oil production in 2018, in the Berber mountain village of Toujane, Tunisia. A blinded donkey is moving an edge mill to crush olives. Thierry Monasse/Getty Images There are three different grades of olive oil made and marketed, from the high-quality extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) to medium-quality ordinary virgin olive oil, to low-quality olive-pomace oil (OPO). EVOO is obtained by direct pressing or centrifugation of the olives. Its acidity can be no greater than 1 percent; if it is processed when the temperature of the olives is below 30 °C (86 °F) it is called cold-pressed.   Olive oils with between 1 and 3 percent acidity are known as ordinary virgin oils, but anything greater than 3 percent is refined, by accepted chemical solvents, and those oils can also be fairly marketed as ordinary.   Lower Quality Oils and Fraud Pomace is one of the main byproducts of the pressing process; it is a conglomeration of skin, pulp, pieces of kernels, and some oil left over when the first processing is completed, but the oil undergoes rapid deterioration due to the moisture content. Refined OPO is obtained by extracting the remaining oil using chemical solvents and a refining process, then it is improved with the addition of virgin oil to obtain OPO.   Many of the common manufacturers of olive oil practice the fraudulent mislabeling of olive oils. Since EVOO is the most expensive, it is the most often mislabeled. Mislabeling often concerns the geographic origin or oil variety of olive oil, but EVOO which has been adulterated by the addition of cheaper oils is not EVOO anymore, despite its being labeled as such. The most common adulterants in mislabeled virgin olive oils are refined olive oil, OPO, synthetic oil-glycerol products, seed oils (such as sunflower, soy, maize, and rapeseed), and nut oils (such as peanut or hazelnut). Scientists are working on methods of detection of the mislabeled olive oils, but such methods have not been made widely available.   Once someone tries a real extra virgin- an adult or a child, anybody with taste buds- theyll never go back to the fake kind. Its distinctive, complex, the freshest thing youve ever eaten. It makes you realize how rotten the other stuff is, literally rotten.  Tom Mueller Sources: Capurso, Antonio, Gaetano Crepaldi, and Cristiano Capurso. Extra-Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO): History and Chemical Composition. Benefits of the Mediterranean Diet in the Elderly Patient. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2018. 11–21. Print.Foley, Brendan P., et al. Aspects of Ancient Greek Trade Re-Evaluated with Amphora DNA Evidence. Journal of Archaeological Science 39.2 (2012): 389–98. Print.Guimet, Francesca, Joan Ferrà ©, and Ricard Boquà ©. Rapid Detection of Olive–Pomace Oil Adulteration in Extra Virgin Olive Oils from the Protected Denomination of Origin â€Å"Siurana† Using Excitation–Emission Fluorescence Spectroscopy and Three-Way Methods of Analysis. Analytica Chimica Acta 544.1 (2005): 143–52. Print.Kapellakis, Iosif, Konstantinos Tsagarakis, and John Crowther. Olive Oil History, Production and by-Product Management. Reviews in Environmental Science and Biotechnology 7.1 (2008): 1–26. Print.Mueller, Tom. Extra Virgini ty: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil. New York: W.W. Norton, 2012. Print. Niaounakis, Michael. Olive-Mill Wastewater in Antiquity. Environmental Effects and Applications. Oxford Journal of Archaeology 30.4 (2011): 411–25. Print.Rojas-Sola, Josà © Ignacio, Miguel Castro-Garcà ­a, and Marà ­a del Pilar Carranza-Caà ±adas. Contribution of Historical Spanish Inventions to the Knowledge of Olive Oil Industrial Heritage. Journal of Cultural Heritage 13.3 (2012): 285–92. Print.Vossen, Paul. Olive Oil: History, Production, and Characteristics of the Worlds Classic Oils. Horticultural Science 42.5 (2007): 1093–100. Print.