Building an Effective Poster
Spring 2016
Overview:
We will be presenting the results of our research at the North Seattle College, Making
Learning Visible Symposium, on Thursday, June 2, 2016. This means it’s time to start thinking about
what our posters will look like! Remember that solid drafts of your Introduction and Layout are due on
Thursday, 5/18.
Step 1: Your Observations:
As a first step, please partner with someone who is not on
your research team. You and your partner should examine at least four research posters. As you
review the posters, discuss what you notice about each, and capture your thoughts in the space
provided below. Be prepared to share your observations with the group!
What do you notice about the posters you like? What kinds of features make them engaging and
informative?
What do you notice about the posters you don’t like? What specific attributes make them difficult to
engage with or understand?
Step 2: Using a Rubric.
Select the strongest poster you reviewed and score each criteria
on a scale of 1-5, where 5 = outstanding and 1 = inadequate.
Section
Criteria
Title
a short, descriptive title, easy to
read and visible from a distance
Abstract
a brief summary of the entire
poster, including results and
conclusions
Introduction
provides background information
about the topic; connects to the
literature; introduces and explains
the hypothesis
provides an overview of the
researchers’ methods; uses
flowcharts, pictures, and
diagrams to help communicate
key steps; omits minor details
Describes the data collected
(may include a list of bullet points,
graphs, and/or other figures); all
figures should be numbered and
have a descriptive caption.
Methods
Results
Discussion
Figures
References
Overall Format
analysis of results; compare and
contrast ideas, issues, alternate
hypotheses, etc.; includes
conclusions based on data, next
steps, etc.
one or more clear, relevant visual
aids (photos, map, etc.) to help
reader understand and visualize
topic; each figure should have a
number, a one sentence
descriptive caption, and include
a reference, if needed
references should be in
alphabetical order by the last
name of the author; references
are from appropriate scientific
sources
visually appealing; grabs your
attention; text is easy to read,
amount of text and figures is
balanced; content is thoughtfully
laid out; flow of information is
logical; funding sources are
acknowledged
Other Strengths and Weaknesses:
Score + Comments & Observations