Striptease or Who dun it?

On PhD chat last week, we were talking about writing up and how you need a narrative thread or argument all the way through - something that the Swedish call "the red thread". I tweeted how my supervisor's advised me "not to give everything away in the literature review"; i.e.to keep something back or not to show your hand all at once. Someone else called this a "who dun it" and I though that it seems as though it's more of a striptease.

I see the sense in this, but as a relatively new PhD student, I've yet to work out what I should tell, reveal or show and when. I'm working on the first draft of my literature review and it's tempting to try to cover everything upfront - all my ideas, arguments (not that they can be called 'coherent'). I haven't yet worked out what to take off, and when, what beat my thesis should move to, and when I should bring things to a crescendo and display what? The best bits, all of it, or selected highlights? Do I want to take advantage of the lighting to show my best features to their best advantage.

More importantly, I haven't even decided which outfit or costume to wear.  Do I want to go for the glitzy number, the discreet one (on the grounds that less is more)? And what accessories should I choose – the high heels, the platforms, the fascinator or what?  Is there even a PhD student or thesis outfit or costume that can be the starting point for a striptease?

I’m going to ponder on this over the next few weeks.  I’ll post any ideas that I find or come up with.