11 December 2013
Sharing your story : developing your academic conference skills

• to teach/improve some practical skills needed when submitting to, presenting at, or simply attending academic conferences in our field
• to reflect upon the experience of attending an academic conference and how to get the best out of it, both professionally and personally

Do some basic background research
– what’s the conference for?
– who organises it?
– who goes to it, and why?
– how long/big is it?
– how does it work? what sorts of sessions/presentations?
– is there a conference theme?
What can you learn from the Call for Proposals?
(sometimes known as the Call for Papers)

“Our main theme reflects contemporary research interests and concerns within the language testing and assessment community (at both national and international level)….”

Look at the Call for Proposals handout and find the answers to these questions:
– how clear is the conference theme? is it explained in detail?
– are there sub-themes or strands?
– what different types of presentation are possible?
– is it clear how these are different?
– what’s the method for submitting an abstract proposal?
– are there evaluation criteria? if so, highlight the key words
– who evaluates the proposals?
– is there a word-limit on the abstract? how about the title?
– when’s the deadline for submission?

• Look at the handout with a list of abstract titles.
• Choose 2 papers you would accept for the
LTRC conference.
• What were the reasons for your choice?

• AAAL
– no overall theme – but multiple topic strands
– stricter presentation policies, e.g. wordcount, abstract
+ abstract summary, upper limit on submission as 1 st author
• EALTA
– Call for Papers
• LTF

• … always check carefully the conventions for each conference – they can vary from event to event
• … don’t simply assume you can submit the same abstract for different conferences – it may not fit the brief

• Poster (LTRC)
– to present projects, new tests, technological innovations, etc
– informal, flexible, v interactive – extended timeslot (1-1.5 hrs)
• Work-in-progress (LTRC)
– to present/discuss research in progress or at planning stage
– less formal, more interactive – 15-20 mins, small groups (x 4)
• Research Paper (LTRC)
– to present theoretically oriented or completed empirical research
– formal style - 20 mins presentation + 10 mins Q+A

• Presenting at a conference is a chance for you to ‘tell a story’ about the research subject or area you are interested in, and that you hope/believe others will find interesting too

A conference abstract is an advance organiser:
– it tells the reader a story, a tale of what they can expect if they attend this session
– it tells a reviewer something slightly different: it makes a claim about why this proposal is worth accepting, why it’s worth letting other readers hear the story
So make your title and your abstract informative, but no more so than necessary

Key components
SPSE :
S ituation P roblem S olution E valuation
Genre: I ntroduction
M ethod
R esults
D iscussion
(The two are in many ways the same: but it is often found that SPSE, being more general, fits better with social science and humanities research while
IMRD fits classic ‘scientific method’ research.)

• Situation
– provides background/context
• Problem
– what is the question/issue, and why does this matter?
• Solution
– what was done and has it worked?
• Evaluation
– main findings and their significance; any weaknesses; further studies?

SP E
• abstracts at LTRC – and many other non-scientific conferences – often don’t include the ‘solution’ element
• the closer you get to the Humanities, the less likely it is to find a Results/Solution element in the abstract
• saving the S or R element for the research presentation itself is like revealing the climax of a movie near the end!
• HOWEVER, if your study has found something really exciting/unique, you may want to outline that as part of selling the interest value of your ‘story’

Look at a copy of an abstract : a. Pick out the most attractive feature of the title b. Underline the most dramatic words in the abstract c. Try to find a statement of a research ‘gap’ d. Why might you think these presenters would be competent to discuss this issue?
e. What other valuable characteristics of an abstract might you want to have in this one?

Halleck and Connor’s “rhetorical moves”
• Territory
• Gap
• Goal
• Means
• Reporting previous research
• Outcomes
• Benefits
• Competence claim
• Importance claim

• Importance of the topic , originality of the research and contribution to the field, including appropriate reference to relevant literature (embedding)
• The care taken in the research design (including appropriateness of design, use of instruments, data-collection procedures)
• The appropriateness of the quantitative and/or qualitative methodologies used to address the research questions and the care taken in data analysis and interpretation
• Validity of the conclusions including awareness of the ‘limitations’ of the study and its conclusions

• Remember the Call for Proposals?
• Poster (LTRC)
– to present projects, new tests, technological innovations, etc
– informal, flexible, v interactive – extended timeslot (1-1.5 hrs)

Where does it happen?
How does it work?
What do you have to do as a poster presenter?

Posters can work on multiple levels:
• As a source of information
• As a conversation starter
• As an advertisement of your work
• As a summary of your work

1. A poster needs to be FOCUSED
2. A poster needs to be GRAPHIC
3. A poster needs to be ORDERED

Look at some examples of recent posters
Think about their content (not their presentational features)
– how has the content been selected and organised in each poster?
– is there a common approach?
– in what way do the approaches differ?
– is the poster focused ? is it ordered ?

A standard approach (sometimes slightly adapted):
• Introduction
• Objective
• Method
• Results
• Discussion
(plus contact details, acknowledgement, etc)

Less of a sequential flow or unfolding story
More of a ‘photo montage’ – but still a logical development?
Often well-suited to presenting new tests, technological innovations, etc

Look at the same posters again
Now think about their design features , i.e. use of colour, lettering (size/font), graphics, photos, etc.
– why have these features been chosen?
– what works/doesn’t work?
– what attracts or confuses?
– is the poster graphic ?

Look at the handout Guidelines for Poster
Presenters - produced for LTRC 2010:
- dimensions
- text
- illustrations, graphs and diagrams
- design

• Mounting your poster (e.g. a photo)
• Travelling with your poster (e.g. carry-tube)
• Displaying your poster (e.g. timing, equipment)
• Presenting your poster (e.g. handouts)

• check the programme
• identify what interests you
• plan ahead
• use a highlighter
• manage your time and energy
• don’t try to attend everything
• take time to relax
• drink plenty of water and eat sensibly
• introduce yourself to others
• don’t worry if you don’t understand some papers
• don’t feel intimidated by all the ‘experts’
• talk to fellow students
• talk to senior scholars when you have the chance
• notice what/how questions are asked and answered
• in summary…
LISTEN AND WATCH
AND LEARN !