Word choice is situation-specific, so I can't give an example out of context. But there are subtle differences in English between verbs like "imply" and "suggest." An editor can help you choose the strongest word that is also true about your findings. That way, you are being specific and suspenseful in one word (or as few as needed). I have come up with myriad phrases to report findings so that authors are on firm scientific ground but also leading the audience to see the most interesting implications.

Sai,

In true sense it is the both way around. In some cases although you do an excellent scientific study but due to the space allotment constraint of high impact international journals, you will be forced to restrict your manuscript to the alloted pages only.

On the other hand, studies not having very robust scientific base also get published in a very lucid manner, which get larger audience applause.

Therefore, it is always advisable to present your scientific study findings in a very simplistic manner by keeping your diverse background of reader in mind but, with a caution that 'you are not proving any magic bullet to solve complex issues'. Please read the following article to have a feel of reporting of scientific study for shaping the global strategy for neonatal survival:

Kumar V, Mohanty S, Darmstadt G, et al. Effect of community-based behaviour change management on neonatal mortality in Shivgarh, Uttar Pradesh, India: a cluster randomized controlled trial. Lancet (2008)

Thanks very much for bringing forth the most discussed topic in core scientific research.

Says:-

Thank you Mr. Saroj for your nice comment and the article. I read it.

Thank you Ms. Sofia for your comment. I have a question for you. Suspense writing will thrill the reader. No doubt, that it would kindle interest in the reader's mind, still, don't you think that It is unnecessary waste of words in twisting your content, whilst, the same could be explained in simple language?

This is where an editor can help. Word choice can make more of a difference than word amount. It is not simply A or B, but how to do both in the least amount of space.

Says:-

Could you please elaborate Sir (Mr. Kevin).

Word choice is situation-specific, so I can't give an example out of context. But there are subtle differences in English between verbs like "imply" and "suggest." An editor can help you choose the strongest word that is also true about your findings. That way, you are being specific and suspenseful in one word (or as few as needed). I have come up with myriad phrases to report findings so that authors are on firm scientific ground but also leading the audience to see the most interesting implications.

Says:-

Thank you so much Mr. Kevin. Ironically, the writer and the editor sees the same paper with different eyes. Opinions may differ, provided they both reach the same conclusion which would decide the paper's fate.

Says:-

Thank you Madam. Yes it does.

Just as simple habits & simple way of living helps us to make the life worthy .Similarly simple writing offers a clean message to understand & appreciate the contents of the message .Even in writing one can simpfied the message of suspense a clear line instead of expressing the same in the round about way .This is only my personal opinion .

Thanks

Rohit Parikh

Says:-

Thank you Mr. Rohit Parikh for your lovely opinion. Well, if there is a choice between the two forms of writing, I understand that you would choose SIMPLE writing. Could you please brief what according to your good self, could be the demerits of SUSPENSE writing Sir?

Today it is believed that the method is to be given the meaning of scientific research rather than the object of study. I think it can be reversed. Thanks to this approach is that there are qualitative and mixed approaches.

However, to be considered scientific knowledge should be tested (following the hypothetical-deductive method), to verify or reject it; s opposed to fiction or other genre that does not require empirical verification.

Says:-

Thank you Mr. Manzanares for your valuable comment.

I agree with the views of Kevin Grandfield, Sofia Ann and Rohit Parikh. Whether be it suspense writing or simple writing, the focus of the author should be on clarity of rationale. Simple writing with appropriate words that reflects your findings is necessary. Ultimately, scientific writing should on firm scientific findings and also strongly reflect the most interesting implications of the research. Suspense writing without appropriate phrases and words is not much useful. In the same way, simple writing with improper presentation does not help.

In nutshell, scientific writing should focus on clarity of rationale and appropriate presentation of findings and its implications.

Says:-

Thank you Mr. Pandya. Even I agree with all the thoughts expressed here (Including your good self's), that focus should rely on the rationale irrespective of the writing style/pattern. But, the main reason I came up with this question is to know the different views of different authors. How each one of you fare upon suspense or simple writing and defend your choice.

Men are born equal but with different traits & even intelligence are also differ.Readers with a liking for suspense or dectitive literacture ,they have an eagerness sometime anixous natural with uncertainty.

They would prefer to wait for an information ,result for which sometimes they will loose patient .One thing is very much certain that suspense writers have great demand they established a good name & fame .

They will also make out a good name in their life .

Thanks

Rohit Parikh

Says:-

Thank you so much Mr. Parikh for such a 'suspense' filled thought. I personally liked it when you mentioned suspense writers are in great demand.

Says:-

Thanks Miss. Mcphee for your comment with an excellent example. If I may ask you a question (by quoting an example of my own);

Let's take the example of DIABETES...!!!

What would you call the following sentence: Simple writing or suspense writing?

--> "Many studies have stated that the prevalence of DIABETES is either not known (ABC et al) or difficult to calculate (XYZ et al). Also, PQR et al (2002) concluded that there are no prevalence estimates of DIABETES owing to lack of epidemiological studies. However, ONE reported a prevalence of 53.6% in their study and TWO and THREE reported a 13.6% prevalence in their study. THOUGH OUR STUDY REPORTS A PREVALENCE OF 44.3%, THIS WAS PRECISELY CONCERNED TO THE TWO DEMOGRAPHIC REGIONS WE SURVEYED.WE DO BELIEVE THAT THE PREVALENCE OF DIABETES IS DIFFICULT TO ESTIMATE, YET NOT IMPOSSIBLE, AS THE TARGETED POPULATIONS ARE WIDESPREAD ALWAYS."

This example clearly shows that the research was not carried out on the whole country. Still, the authors are clever enough to defend themselves. I request everyone to participate in identifying this example of mine.

Thanks. I am really humbled and overwhelmed by all your responses..!!!

Says:-

Dear Miss Linda, I really appreciate your wit. The paragraph that I quoted was just an example and all I need to know is where does it stand? --> is that a suspense writing or a simple one. Yes, the overall outcome from that paragraph is 'estimating the prevalence of diabetes'. I came across this paragraph in one of my student's thesis work and thought of sharing it here. I thank your good self for further (SIMPLY) writing down two different versions of the same context, thereby eliminating any signs of suspense in it. I believe, suspense writing is all about saying that "the proof is in the pudding". As long as one tries to know/understand what exactly is said, it becomes uncertain to make any progress further.

Well, whatever the style of writing might be, the 'punch line' is to take cue from the works already been done in that field and stay in the loop.

Says:-

I understood both the ways of your description madam. What I said in the above post was that, I insisted upon understanding the full context of the article before indulging in any further comments. I really appreciate your continued involvement. Thanks.

To answer the question posted, one needs to take into account the different practices of scientific writing. In all of them writing needs to be simple without oversimplefying things. All of them can have a "gripping" effect, but the way to achieve it is always related to the background of the readers. Here is an open list of some scientific writing practices:

- taking notes while doing research

- reporting your findings to your boss

- emailing with other researchers on the matter

- publishing a paper on your findings

- publishing a paper on the pros and cons of a theory or model

- writing a research grant proposal

- reporting your results to the people granting the money

- writing a workbook for students (in your particular field)

- explaining research findings to journalists

- writing a book for the wider public to understand the significance of your field

Be aware also that Eastern researchers may write so that the plot only comes together at the end, while Western researchers give the game away in the first sentences and sections. This can be confusing to readers of research who do not know the different cultures. My own PhD writing was guided by the French word denouement, which I found in our universities guide for postgraduates. It helped made the thesis-book "un-put-downable"!

@Linda. The power imbalance is new to me. I thought it was entirely geographic. The East African angle makes me revise my idea to be East of Egypt or West of Egypt! Denouement can work in medical theses, by dividing the research question well into (modular) research sub-questions to decouple them, then presenting each, slowly feeding the full knowledge to the thesis reader. By the way, I believe all research writing should be simple and lucid.

I agree with Ian Kennedy and Linda Mcphee's ideas that research writing should be simple, clear, lucid and scientific.

Why would you expect that suspense writing (= a twist in the tale/tail) in science would generate more citations?

Is it fair to the science reader?

From my perspective, our goal in our research should be to move the science forward, not to accumulate citations. If you are doing good science, you will naturally get more citations, independent of any superficial attempts to manipulate the suspense of your writing. As scientists, we are supposed to read articles with a critical eye, determining , "Did this author make the appropriate conclusion, based on the methods used?" and "How can this information advance my own thinking on the subject?" It's very hard to answer these questions for yourself if you have to wait until the end to know what the claims you are attempting to critique actually are.

Thanks Linda-- I agree--sorry if that was unclear. I just wanted to make the point that people will read and use your research (and thus cite it) if it is good research, and not merely if it is suspensefully written.

Hummmmm... I love this discussion!!! Sai, you've made your point beautifully!! Can you give us some detailed directions to make sure the editors will agree with that?

Says:-

1) "Thank you all for your lovely comments. I really appreciate it and value it".

--> This is definitely SIMPLE WRITING. Here, I am clear that I am complementing all of you for your useful suggestions.

Now, if I add SUSPENSE to it, then,

2) "Thanks for the comments, which were well discussed with pragmatic suggestions that led everyone to participate and share their excellent views, which I consider as priceless."

--> Here, although I am complementing everyone for their participation, still (I hope) I have delivered the same meaning with a different perspective, which I believe the EDITORS will surely agree upon.

Considering the second sentence, could anyone please tell WHERE THE SUSPENSE IS...???

In your second example of a suspenseful sentence, you are postponing revealing the fact that the interaction was priceless to you until the very, very last minute. It takes the reader a long time to get up to the point that you really want to make. Why make the reader work hard? Is it fair on the reader? What happens if the reader is speed reading (as I was the 1st time I read your example), and on a first reading misses your priceless point entirely?

Says:-

Well said Mr. Kennedy. That's one of the facts I was trying to emphasize here. Suspense writing requires deeper introspection. As pointed out by your Good self, a reader may lose track of the lines. On the other side, I guess I wont be wrong if I say suspense writing could be the best example of writing techniques available to teach students/ scholars what not to write.

You need to be careful to define whether you are using (as in example 2) suspense writing at the sentence level, paragraph level, section level or at the chapter level. I see no harm in one sentence or two being suspenseful as a way of varying your science writing. Nor is there any harm in a science thesis-book being structured to best engage the reader. So I feel that you would be wrong to make that last condemnation.

i would say, go ahead abd try science writing and let us know how you fare. In my own opinion, as an engineer, i want to get straight to the point. The quality of your work will speak well enough. if you use suspense writing, i'd be thinking in the back of my mind... "blah... blah... blah... just make your point already." another point to consider, if i have two proposals, one written in a suspenceful way and the other, clear, simple, staright to the point, easy to follow, easy to read, etc. Which do you think will get chosen? written in a suspensefull way, some of the points you are trying to make might get lost. the only thing i think you could hope for would to find a reader that appreciates that style of writting. writing to an english major, sure ok. writing for an engineer. maybe not.

Sorry.. Wrote post from cell phone. It autocorrected a few words and didnt notice until after i submitted.

1st sentence = science should be suspense .

There are a few other mispellings, please overlook. :-)

I just want to share my near experience with all of you. I'm right now writing my thesis and i assumed the first chapter was ready for revision, my director read it and qualified it as "imprecise": I wrote it with suspense writing, but at last it was not so precise. But, he said, when I reached simplicity, it was precise, and simple (but without suspense). What I'm suspecting now is that you need precision but adding some of poetics (like metaphores or comparisons with other sciences). Maybe in this way it will gather the suspense and simplicity that is needed to catch the reader inside the work.

Very interesting debate... I would say depending the public and magazine

Scientific research is performed in pursuit of truth. The purpose of scientific writing is the dissemination of knowledge. It should be simple and understandable by a wide audience and there is no room here for suspense writing.

Says:-

Thanks all for your excellent narration. I believe, one must strike the right balance with both. Full of simple writing, to some reviewers eyes, might look childish; also in suspense writing, it is the writer's headache to highlight what he/she is trying to say to the world and if fails to do so would lead to confusion.

To Say Kishore: For whom you are writing? Reviewers?

Says:-

Mr. Sankara Narayanan - Dear Sir, no one writes for the sake of reviewers alone. But no one can publish their thoughts without crossing the reviewers. To say it simply, the suspense lies with the way we write. If one can deliver their thoughts/work succinctly, that's what matters the most.

Says:-

Thanks Daniel. :)

Perfect, Sai!

Says:-

Thanks Marcia.

DZ- Nice to see you being sky bound mate. My Best wishes. One line that attracted me (as noted by Sagan) was that "Voyager is condemned to wander forever in the dark between the stars", was definitely a straight forward punch line that became "the most distant emissary of mankind". Nice one. And yeah, SIMPLE WRITING, of course...!!!

Says:-

Nice reply Mr. Peter. I appreciate it. I am glad this debate has been widely recognized by everyone here. Well, I have attached a link here (hope it works). I feel, this article is a good example of suspense writing.

http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1471-2350-11-97.pdf

Thanks for the example from biomedcentral. My reading of the research report finds that the paper is difficult to understand without reading the abstract first. This raises the interesting questions as to whether research writers can safely assume that the reader will definitely read the abstract first before reading the paper. Today we seldom find the paper through an abstracting service, and may still only get the paper some time later, by which time we have forgotten the abstract. My feeling is that the paper has enough space to repeat the abstract almost verbatim in the text as an Introduction section.

Many of us do not have sufficient time to read all the contents of all the papers published in our area of research. Abstract/summary should clearly define the objectives and outcome of the work.

Researchers have different style of writing. Many of them have the opinion that they are writing to the experts. For a reader new to the field, it is difficult to understand everything at a glance.

Says:-

This is exactly the kind of replies I expected from all you good fellows. Thanks. I really appreciate and value all your comments. Now, I am exposing one of my own abstract (which is currently under review in a journal). SIMPLY let me know if it is SUSPENSEful or not. Here it is:

"The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of Muscle Dysmorphia (MD) and to categorize the personality of the body builders who are symptomatic to it. A total of 212 body builders filled the Muscle Dysmorphia Inventory (MDI) of which 44.3% (n=94) were found to be muscle dysmorphic. Their personality assessment using ****** Personality Questionnaire revealed 65% of muscle dysmorphic body builders being predominantly oriented towards one type of personality. Further statistical analysis revealed the association between the MDI and the personality traits and its results are discussed. Estimating the prevalence and categorizing based on personality has rather opened a new gateway to identify such vulnerable men who are susceptible to their own drive for muscularity."

Please! I truly respect and honor all your (+/-) comments.

(-) I am disappointed by you not showing the direction of the association, or the personality type. Your "results are discussed" is a waste of words. N=94 is redundant. The qualifier "rather" is also unwanted. Not acceptable as an abstract. Readers will not buy the journal. Researchers will not pay good research $$$ or time for access. Because the abstract does not conform to expectation, the paper is anticipated also not meet expectations. (+) Your research could have found out something interesting (but I will never know... until you promise to rewrite your abstract!)

Instead I will make my own reading list: http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=&q=Muscle+Dysmorphia+Inventory+Personality+Questionnaire

Dear Sai, if you allow me...

"A total of 212 body builders filled the Muscle Dysmorphia Inventory (MDI) of which 44.3% (n=94) were found to be muscle dysmorphic. Their personality assessment using ****** Personality Questionnaire revealed 65% of muscle dysmorphic body builders being predominantly oriented towards one type of personality. Further statistical analysis revealed the association between the MDI and the personality traits and its results are discussed."

I'd show the results in a straight and appealing way, not in detais and so number like, but enough to make people go after your article.

Well, that's my humble opinion...

Good luck with your submission!

Marcia

Keep a word limit - for ex. 100 words to write the abstract. This will help you to refine the abstract in a better way.

Says:-

Dear ALL,

Thank you so much for your erudite guidance. As I mentioned earlier, even I am not fond of suspense writing. Yet, I found it as a good substitute to other writing styles (say, simple writing). I understood nobody was familiar about it (including myself), and that made me to start this debate. Coming back to the abstract I posted, It is not fair to produce the original abstract (as it is under review). I had to make some minor adjustments or shuffle of words in order to kindle your interests. I take this chance to thank each and everyone of you individually and appreciate all your efforts and excellent comments (especially Mr. Ian Kennedy and Mr. Peter Smetaniuk). I believe we all share the same benefit out of this debate.

~HATS-OFF~

Sai, please, don't forget to share with us the acceptance of your article. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!!!

Says:-

Sure Marcia, Well, my fingers are 'crossed', already!

I am more interested in knowing about the comments of the peer review process on the mode of writing of the paper. In most cases, the technical aspects of the paper are critically reviewed with a mention about "language needs to be improved". If all the aspects are concentrated, then the reviewing process will become lengthy and reviewers do not have that much time to check and correct all the aspects including language and style of writing. It is left to the author's responsibility.

Word choice is situation-specific, correctly said above!

Simple writing is better and more appreciated.

I would suggest that in most instances the distinctions made between these different "types" of writing--if they even can be called that--are largely irrelevant in the context of publication. Each discipline broadly conceived has fairly specific writing conventions that authors must follow. I doubt that many psychology journals, for example, would consider a research report written in the "suspense" mode.

As a peer-reviewer, i think that the simplest your paper is, the higher the chance it gets published. Yet, this also depends on the topic, the methodology and the author's choice of being understood right from the beginning, or keeping the "suspense" until the end!!!

yes Linda I totally agree with you. Science is to be straight to the point n not beating about the bush

Very strange question. It has nothing to do with science. Article for “Popular Mechanic” could be written in “suspense mode”, or in “simple mode”, or whatever other mode. Scientific paper should be written logically.