1. Objective and hypothesis
Discussion slides

2. Objective/hypothesis
Unique contribution of your paper, as expressed in the hypothesis or objective
Last paragraph of introduction
Abstract
Cover letter

3. Objective/hypothesis
Last paragraph of introduction
Follows from rest of introduction
Results and discussion refer back to this statement
Abstract
Contains all elements of the paper
Includes a clear statement of the objective
First part editors read – may make decision based on abstract; only part most readers ever read
Cover letter
Assures editor that there are no ethical issues
“Sells” editor on the value of your paper

4. Objective/hypothesis
Strength of claim
How does your paper fill a gap in the research or literature?
If you can make a claim for the originality and uniqueness of your paper, it is more likely to be published
“This is the first paper to...”
“We used a unique approach...” – originality may be in the method
“This has never before been studied in humans.”
But make sure you can make that claim
“To our knowledge...”
“As far as we are aware...”
“While other studies have covered ... , our paper is the first to explore ...”