Preparing a Poster for the Poster Session

(Adapted from Summer Science Poster Preparation by Karen Hicks)

Content:

• Title, authors, abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion, literature references, and acknowledgements should be included in your poster
• Focus the content so that your reader can get through your poster in no more than 5 minutes
• Anticipate your audience

Layout:

• Posters should be made using Powerpoint - see instructions for how to make a PowerPoint poster
  • You can use the example poster on the P drive as a starting point, if you prefer (see below)
• Posters should be 36” wide x 36” high. You should leave a 1/2" margin, at least, around the edge.
• All text should be at least 24 point, including text within graphics; avoid too much text
• Components should be organized so that reader can easily find the next section
• Avoid distracting backgrounds and color schemes
• Links to poster-making websites can be found at the Biology Department website (the first link doesn’t work)

Samples:

• A sample poster which you can use as a template is located at P:Data/biology/Biol261/EthogramPPT/261Example36x36.ppt
  • Copy this to your desktop/local drive, then change it as you see fit (color scheme, organization, etc.)
  • There is also a Poster template file (261Template36x36.potx) if you would rather work with that
• Liz Carlton's Summer Science Poster for you to see for an example of a well-done poster
• Additional sample posters from past Summer Science Poster Sessions can be viewed online
• NOTE: the sample posters are from research done over a long period. Your posters may not have the same depth of information. They are presented only as guidelines for how a poster should be presented.

Using digital photos in your poster:

• Any pictures you use should be jpeg (.jpg) files. DO NOT USE TIFF FILES.
• You do not need better than 300 dpi resolution. If you know how to set this feature, do so. Otherwise, just save it as JPG.

How to have your poster printed:

• Dudley Thomas (Chemistry) will be printing your posters on the wide-format printed located in the basement of Tomsich (TOM012).
• Save your file as a Windows 95/98 presentation - this will ensure that all components are printed correctly
• Save a copy of your file in P:Temp:Biol261Posters and send an email to thomasdg@kenyon.edu letting him know the filename for your poster.
• You will receive an email reply when your printed poster is ready to be picked up.

Deadlines:

• Sending me draft copy is mandatory. Your draft copy must be submitted to me by the end of the day Friday, November 19, via email attachment.
• The deadline for FINAL copies is Monday, November 29 by 8AM. Printed final posters will be available for pickup by 5PM on Tuesday, Nov. 30.
• Take your final printed poster to class for set up on Wednesday (Dec. 1) or Friday (Dec. 2) at 8:30 AM