this article is distributed under the terms of the creative commons attribution license which permits any use , distribution , and reproduction in any medium , provided the original author(s ) and the source are credited .
 bioethics case reports generally treat aspects of moral fathomability , characterised and addressed in different ways . 
 this paper reads the case as a textual model of scenarios and draws attention to its structure , narrative shape , linguistic register , and the effects of tone and temporality on reader expectation and responsiveness . 
 such textual elements of case composition reflect authorial purpose and influence the interpretation , including moral and ethical interpretation , of bioethics cases . 
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