Does Chapter 3 require past tense and first person to be properly written?

The tense depends on whether you are at the proposal stage or the final study stage of the doctoral capstone process, but when referring to yourself in your study, APA and Walden both state that you should use the first person.

If you are at the proposal stage and first writing Chapter 3, then you should use the future tense because you have not carried out your study yet. If you are at the final study stage and going back to revise Chapter 3, then you should use the past tense because you have now completed the study.

Additional Resources:

More information is available on the Doctoral Capstone Form and Style webpage.

Further Questions:

Other questions about your doctoral capstone or the Form & Style review? E-mail the Dissertation Editors at [email protected].