There are many standards of English, which may differ in spelling, punctuation and vocabulary. Choose a common standard variant of English, such as North American or Standard British English, and use it consistently throughout your report.
Write your thesis report using a formal style of English which is clear, descriptive and neutral. Its purpose is to convey the intended content to the reader in such a way that it is easy to understand.
Voice
Use impersonal tone and passive voice whenever it is possible. For example, write “The thesis discusses...”, “The data was collected …" instead of “I will discuss...” or “I collected the data …". However, you can use the first-person narrative when you present your own viewpoints, experiences or feelings. You can also use the first person “I” when you describe your own concrete actions. The pronoun “we” can only be used if there is more than one author. Please, remember that you always need a subject in a sentence when writing in English. However, using “I” extensively can irritate the reader and lower the credibility of your report.
Tense
Choose the tenses appropriately. The simple present tense refers to the action that is repeated, habitual or generalized. It indicates something that is true now or at any time. Using present tense is a good choice when you make general statements or your own conclusions. Occasionally present tense can also be used to refer to the near future, although the modal verb ‘will’ or the idiomatic future ‘be going to’ more clearly indicate future plans or intentions. You can use the present perfect tense when a past action, state or results relate to the present time. For example, “The data has been analysed using ….” can be stated when you have not finished the analysis yet or when the analysis and its results are at hand and being reported now. Present continuous or progressive forms are not common in thesis reports. The most common tense in reports is, however, the past tense, which refers to a completed and finished action. Use past tense forms of verbs when you describe the steps you took during the implementation process.