Past tense. This one always feels more like a story being told, and is a good place to start for first-time first-person writers.
You'll generally be choosing between present and past tense. Like second-person narration, future tense is an option, but few writers take it – it's difficult to get right. The first person, present tense combination has proven effective for many authors, and is particularly common in the world of young adult fiction.
If you want your reader to feel high identification with your POV character, choose first person or close third. If you want to describe your character from the outside as well as give her thoughts, choose either close or distant third person.
The Basic Rule: You should use the past tense when discussing historical events, and you should use the literary present when discussing fictional events. 1. When commenting on what a writer says, use the present tense. Example: Dunn begins his work with a view into the lives and motivations of the very first settlers.
Use the first person singular pronoun appropriately, for example, to describe research steps or to state what you will do in a chapter or section. Do not use first person "I" to state your opinions or feelings; cite credible sources to support your scholarly argument.
1. Do not use first-person pronouns ("I," "me," "my," "we," "us," etc.). Using these expressions in analytical and persuasive essays can make the writing wordy, can make the writer seem less confident of his or her ideas, and can give the essay an informal tone.
Writers should be careful to use the exact tense needed to describe, narrate, or explain. Do not switch from one tense to another unless the timing of an action demands that you do. Keep verb tense consistent in sentences, paragraphs, and essays.
If you're new to writing fiction, or if you're looking for an easier tense to manage, choose past tense.
The present tense can diminish suspense.
Because present-tense narrators do not know what is going to happen, they are unable to create the kind of suspense that arises from knowledge of upcoming events.
Second-Person Point of View
The story unfolds from the perspective of an onlooker who speaks directly to the reader. For example, "You went to school the other morning." Second-person point of view is rarely used because it's easy for this writing style to sound gimmicky—making it the hardest point of view to use.
Third Person Limited
J. K. Rowling utilizes third-person limited narration in the Harry Potter novels. Even though the narrator is not Harry, and Harry is referred to as 'he,' the reader is allowed into Harry's thoughts—what he is wondering without saying out loud.
Most formal, academic writing uses the third person.
Typically, tense follows a similar pattern to point-of-view. Present tense is more immediate and personal, meaning it pairs well with a first-person point-of-view, while past-tense allows for slightly more distance, making it more flexible.
First and second person should not be used in formal writing, such as a term paper. First person is the use of “I, me, my, we” etc. Second person is the use of “you, your,” etc. Many students are confused how to write one's opinion is third person.” Here are some examples of how it is done.
The Present - Simple Present Tense is the most commonly used tense in the English language, and you will most often use it to talk about your habits, actions you perform regularly, or just general facts.
The present perfect tense is the most difficult tense in English because there are so many unpredictable situations and contexts which throw a spanner into the works of the 'current relevance' argument.
The present simple is the most commonly used tense in academic writing, so if in doubt, this should be your default choice of tense. There are two main situations where you always need to use the present tense.
If your story is a fast-action, and putting it in the past slows it down too much. If you feel it constrains you too much. If you simply find writing in the present tense more enjoyable and fulfilling.
Two, know why you're doing is—The most common reason writers give for changing tenses is that they want to slow the action and create immediacy. It can do that—and so much more. You can use a tense shift to move a story out of the plot and into a character's memory.
You can switch tenses between sections or chapters
You might start out in the present tense in an opening section — to bring the reader into action that feels immediate and urgent — and then, in a subsequent section featuring backstory or earlier periods of time, switch to the past tense.
APA Style and First-Person Pronouns
APA prefers that writers use the first person for clarity and self-reference. To promote clear communication, writers should use the first person, rather than passive voice or the third person, to indicate the action the writer is taking.
The easy way to work out the correct grammar use of I or me in your essay writing is just to check whether the pronoun is the subject of the sentence or the object. If it is the subject, you use I. If it is the object, you use me.