An academic poster is a visual way of communicating information.
It needs to grab attention and convey a message in a clear and compelling way using a
... [Show More] mixture of
text and graphics.
Academic posters are academic, this means they should be written in a formal style and referenced.
Academic posters are designed so others can read and understand the information quickly.
One page of information, communicated through brief blocks of text, words or statements and
imagery.
Academic posters are a representation of your work, communicated through text, visual imagery,
infographics and/or tables and graphs to summarise your project and its conclusions. Information is
laid out in sections, using headings and subheadings to draw the attention and eyeline of the viewer.
What to include
Your content needs to be clearly and logically laid out using headings and subheadings.
If you are reporting information you could adopt a report structure for your poster, but if you are
providing a solution to a problem you may find an analytical style more appropriate. For your
assessment two poster presentation, you need to include the following;
Title Summary of what your poster topic is about
Student number Your university student number
Introduction Short description of the service, the location
and the specific gap within the service. An
identification of a measurable outcome,
objective, or goal.
Evidence of research Explanation of the rationale behind the need to
address the service gap and how it represents
invisible asylum to the intended service users or
patients.
Proposed plan for improvement Underpinned by an analytical framework,
discussion of what steps are needed to achieve
the goal of the project. Also, the tasks or
activities to be undertake at each step.
Stakeholders engagement Identification of who the stakeholders for the
project will be and their specific contributions
to the project.
Evaluation strategy Evaluation of the performance of the
improvement plan.
References Maximum of ten sources with a minimum of six
academic sources.
Planning your content
Be guided by the learning outcomes and topic.
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A poster needs precise and concise communication so spend time identifying your key points, be
specific and use plain English, not jargon.
What information do you want to include?
What information do you want the reader of your poster to know?
Decide upon any pictures, diagrams, charts, graphs or photos that help communicate the information
to the reader of your poster.
Academic posters require referencing to show evidence of your reading and research so you should
always provide a reference list.
Design and layout
Once you have decided upon the content think about how are you going to arrange your
information?
• Keep referring to the purpose of your poster which can be found in the assignment brief.
• Choose a layout that matches its purpose. For example, think about whether you are going to
choose a circular design that flows from section to section or columnar design that will be read in the
same way as a newspaper for the information you want to display.
• The reader will need to know how to read your poster so decide whether you are going to number
the sections or use arrows as a guide.
Font should be legible fonts like: Times New Roman, Arial, Garamond, Berkeley UC Davis Medium
Use the same font type throughout your poster
No smaller than 16 pt. font
Layout tips
• Have a clear point of entry for the reader
• Have a logical structure. What information do you want to reader to know?
• Avoid over-simplification and over-complication in your design. Don’t use loads of fonts and
colours, make it look business like and professional.
• Use space and margins to avoid overcrowding your poster
Remember that your poster must have visual impact and be clear and legible from about a metre
away.
Examples. There are many examples of academic posters on the internet; search for academic
posters and look in images. Hopefully you will get inspiration on how to design your poster.
Keep in Mind
Characteristic sections with expected information
Consult marking rubric on assignment brief
Decide on key points that will be presented
Create a storyboard/plan (make use of the working document under week 6 on BREO)
Visually appealing
Simply and tightly written [Show Less]