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Poster Presentations: Getting Started

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The purpose of posters

Posters are a common means of communication for academics, used to summarize your research, scholarly, or creative project in a visually engaging way by

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  • Highlighting the context of your work (e.g. previous scholars, inspirations)
  • Providing your essential question/focus
  • Explaining your methods
  • Sharing your results
  • Sharing your sources

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And a person presenting

Accompanying the poster is a person,

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  • Giving a one-to-two-minute summary of the project

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And

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  • Offering the researcher a chance to add more details, answer questions, convey your excitement and spark their interest

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Submitting your work

  • Upload final poster for printing to the VMC Posters and abstracts link

 

  • Central Services in the Union prints all the posters and requests all posters be 36”x48” or 48”x36”. This Poster Starter Pack provides PowerPoint templates; make sure you choose 36”x48” or 48”x36”.

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  • Central Services will let you know when your poster is ready for pick up. Only one poster will be printed at no charge to you (paid from the Symposium budget), so please proofread carefully before submitting.

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  • Reprints may be printed at the submitter's expense ($22.50/poster) if necessary.

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  • When the Symposium schedule (including the time and place of your poster session) is finalized in April, it will be posted on the VMC Symposium website.

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Easy, right?

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Common Pitfalls to Avoid

Clutter

Unnecessary borders, gradient fills, and overcrowded pages that overwhelm the viewer.

Proximity

Inadequate white space around objects and narrow margins that make the layout feel cramped.

Text Greyness

Using far too much text, even if readable, resulting in a visually dense and uninviting "wall of words."

Poor Imagery

Insufficient use of visual aids or including poorly designed, unlabeled, or incorrectly labeled images.

Plagiarism

A critical failure to cite sources and images correctly, undermining the project's academic integrity.

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Where and how to get help�

Drop in hours are Sun-Thurs evenings 8-10 pm to talk with research consultants, media consultants, communication consultants, math-science tutors or make an appt with a writing consultant, research consultant or media consultant