Individual
Draft Poster
5%
Team Final
Poster 20%
Memo
5%
Spring 2014
35% of final grade
Introduction
How will the posters be graded?
(heading 16 pt; text in 12 pt)
Some of the components, the memos and final drafts, receive team grades. The draft posters
and review meetings are graded on an individual basis. Consult the course website for the
complete explanation and relative weights of the grading criteria. (See Figure 2.)
One of the most important criteria in the poster grading is analysis: forty percent on the
individual draft and thirty percent on the final. As you choose what to include in your poster, and
how to present your research, remember that analysis is really important in this project: we do not
want you to simply describe your topic We want you to analyze the importance and/or implications
of your topic. That means that you must explain cause and effect relationships– why something
happened, or how it changed the course of history.
This poster describes the Research & Analysis Poster Project in Western Civ. This
template is meant to provide more detail about the expectations, guidelines, and resources
for students to succeed. The timeline for the project is illustrated in Figure 1.
You have already chosen a classmate to work with, and submitted your topic memos.
Now it is time to start composing your poster. The research is really only half of the
project– organizing and designing a poster is a lot of work. It is an iterative process,
requiring multiple drafts and printings to produce a good poster. Be sure to follow the
design and formatting tips outlined in this poster and avoid the list of forbidden flaws.
Design and Formatting Tips





Note the text font sizes throughout this poster. But, also remember, that font sizes can be different for different font types. [Garamond; Arial;
Papyrus; Verdana ; Lucinda blackletter ; Monotype Corsiva ; Herculanum]. Most importantly, be sure your font sizes are consistent. It is
helpful to turn off auto-fit or auto-format in the preferences menu.
It is a good design technique to choose one font for titles and subtitles, and another for text. Too many fonts are distracting and unprofessional.
Format paragraphs with a first line indent of 0.3; and format your line spacing at 1.0 with 0.0 lines before and after paragraphs. This will give you
the best ability to control “white space” between titles and text.
One of the most effective design components is a conceptual diagram that illustrates your research and analysis. Think of something like
Diamond’s figure 4.1 – it captures and summarizes his entire argument. In Powerpoint, you can use SmartArt to construct a schematic illustration.
Even a timeline is a very helpful tool to convey information. If you compose a figure, please give yourself credit by labeling it accordingly while also
giving credit to sources. For example: created by author based on whatever source(s).
Another tip for design is to choose a background and color scheme that capture or accentuate your topic. Use Format Themes. Experiment with
transparencies and soft edges for text boxes and pictures. Try recoloring images– you can adjust the tone of pictures to sepia or other theme shades.
Print a draft to see how your color choices, backgrounds, images, and fonts actually print. It is often significantly different than what you view on
the computer screen. Borders are often difficult to line up exactly, so be sure to print a draft to see how they look.
While you are composing, it is helpful to copy your draft to a number of Powerpoint slides (in the same file) so that you can compare various
designs, such as colors and font styles. This way, you can include all of your various ideas for potential content, images, timelines– and then later and
choose those that are best, or those that best fit together.
Feb 7th
•Team topic memos
due
Feb 19th
•In class exercise
Conclusion
Figure 2: Course Website Information.1
Here few basic tips for formatting.

Final
Poster
Feb 28th
•Individual draft posters due
•In class work day
Mar 7th
•Deadline to schedule
review meeting
Mar 19th to 26th
•Review meetings
Forbidden
Faults
 Do not use a picture or
a bright color for the
poster background
 Do not include clip art
 Do not use the font
comic sans
 Do not trim the edges of
the poster
 Do not use cardboard,
glue, construction
paper, scissors or tape
 Do not include “Fun
Facts”
Apr 2nd to 8th
•Final team posters due
Figure 1: Project timeline.
Notes or References
1
(12 pt; citations 10 pt)
>>> Be sure your references are in proper format! You may use footnotes or parenthetical formats, but you must follow an established style guide (APA, MLA, Chicago).
Vonhof, Sarah. 2014. FOR 203 Western Civilization and the Environment Website. Syracuse: SUNY-ESF. www.esf.edu/for/vohof/courses/wce/
This is your opportunity to personalize the
course and hone valuable research, and
communication skills. Be creative and have fun
with this assignment. Here are some things to
think about as you research, prepare, and perfect
your poster:
 Is your poster interesting and relevant?
Is the design appropriate and
professional?
 Have you clearly and fully described
the person/topic/event?
 Is your analysis critical and relevant?
Are the explanations/implications
thorough and clearly?
 There is no short-cut for proofreading.
Even spell-check will not perfect all of
your possible errors.
Do not wait to get to work on this project.
Your individual drafts are intended to be good,
solid efforts at for the project, and they are
graded.
Lastly, remember that the teaching team is
always there to help.
Final
Poster
Introduction
How will the posters be graded?
(heading 16 pt; text in 12 pt)
This poster describes the Research & Analysis Poster Project in Western Civ.
This template is meant to provide more detail about the expectations, guidelines, and
resources for students to succeed. The timeline for the project is illustrated in Figure
1.
You have already chosen a classmate to work with, and submitted your topic
memos. Now it is time to start composing your poster. The research is really only half
of the project– organizing and designing a poster is a lot of work. It is an iterative
process, requiring multiple drafts and printings to produce a good poster. Be sure to
follow the design and formatting tips outlined in this poster and avoid the list of
forbidden flaws.
Some of the components, the memos and final drafts, receive team grades. The draft posters and
review meetings are graded on an individual basis. Consult the course website for the complete
explanation and relative weights of the grading criteria. (See Figure 2.)
One of the most important criteria in the poster grading is analysis: forty percent on the individual
draft and thirty percent on the final. As you choose what to include in your poster, and how to present
your research, remember that analysis is really important in this project: we do not want you to simply
describe your topic We want you to analyze the importance and/or implications of your topic. That
means that you must explain cause and effect relationships– why something happened, or how it
changed the course of history.
Design and Formatting Tips
Figure 2: Course Website Information.1
Here few basic tips for formatting.






Note the text font sizes throughout this poster. But, also remember, that font sizes can be different for different font types. [Garamond; Arial;
Papyrus; Verdana ; Lucinda blackletter ; Monotype Corsiva ; Herculanum]. Most importantly, be sure your font sizes are consistent. It is helpful to
turn off auto-fit or auto-format in the preferences menu.
It is a good design technique to choose one font for titles and subtitles, and another for text. Too many fonts are distracting and unprofessional.
Format paragraphs with a first line indent of 0.3; and format your line spacing at 1.0 with 0.0 lines before and after paragraphs. This will give you
the best ability to control “white space” between titles and text.
One of the most effective design components is a conceptual diagram that illustrates your research and analysis. Think of something like Diamond’s
figure 4.1 – it captures and summarizes his entire argument. In Powerpoint, you can use SmartArt to construct a schematic illustration. Even a
timeline is a very helpful tool to convey information. If you compose a figure, please give yourself credit by labeling it accordingly while also giving
credit to sources. For example: created by author based on whatever source(s).
Another tip for design is to choose a background and color scheme that capture or accentuate your topic. Use Format Themes. Experiment with
transparencies and soft edges for text boxes and pictures. Try recoloring images– you can adjust the tone of pictures to sepia or other theme
shades. Print a draft to see how your color choices, backgrounds, images, and fonts actually print. It is often significantly different than what you
view on the computer screen. Borders are often difficult to line up exactly, so be sure to print a draft to see how they look.
While you are composing, it is helpful to copy your draft to a number of Powerpoint slides (in the same file) so that you can compare various
designs, such as colors and font styles. This way, you can include all of your various ideas for potential content, images, timelines– and then later
and choose those that are best, or those that best fit together.
Feb 7th
•Team topic memos
due
Feb 19th
•In class exercise
Feb 28th
•Individual draft posters due
•In class work day
Mar 7th
•Deadline to schedule
review meeting
Mar 19th to 26th
•Review meetings
Forbidden
Faults
 Do not use a picture or a
bright color for the poster
background
 Do not include clip art
 Do not use the font comic
sans
 Do not trim the edges of
the poster
 Do not use cardboard,
glue, construction paper,
scissors or tape
 Do not include “Fun
Facts”
Apr 2nd to 8th
•Final team posters due
Conclusion
This is your opportunity to personalize the
course and hone valuable research, and
communication skills. Be creative and have fun
with this assignment. Here are some things to
think about as you research, prepare, and perfect
your poster:
 Is your poster interesting and
relevant? Is the design appropriate
and professional?
 Have you clearly and fully described
the person/topic/event?
 Is your analysis critical and relevant?
Are the explanations/implications
thorough and clearly?
 There is no short-cut for proofreading.
Even spell-check will not perfect all of
your possible errors.
Do not wait to get to work on this project.
Your individual drafts are intended to be good,
solid efforts at for the project, and they are
graded.
Lastly, remember that the teaching team is
always there to help.
Figure 1: Project timeline.
Notes or References
1
(12 pt; citations 10 pt)
>>> Be sure your references are in proper format! You may use footnotes or parenthetical formats, but you must follow an established style guide (APA, MLA, Chicago).
Vonhof, Sarah. 2014. FOR 203 Western Civilization and the Environment Website. Syracuse: SUNY-ESF. www.esf.edu/for/vohof/courses/wce/
Spring 2014
Final
Poster
INTRODUCTION
HOW WILL THE POSTERS BE GRADED?
(heading 16 pt; text in 12 pt)
This poster describes the Research & Analysis Poster Project in
Western Civ. This template is meant to provide more detail about the
expectations, guidelines, and resources for students to succeed. The
timeline for the project is illustrated in Figure 1.
You have already chosen a classmate to work with, and submitted your
topic memos. Now it is time to start composing your poster. The research is
really only half of the project– organizing and designing a poster is a lot of
work. It is an iterative process, requiring multiple drafts and printings to
produce a good poster. Be sure to follow the design and formatting tips
outlined in this poster and avoid the list of forbidden flaws.
Figure 2: Course Website Information.1
Figure 1: Project timeline.
Feb 7th
•Team topic memos
due
Feb 28th
•Individual draft posters due
•In class work day
Feb 19th
•In class exercise
Mar 7th
•Deadline to schedule
review meeting
Some of the components, the memos and final drafts, receive team grades. The
draft posters and review meetings are graded on an individual basis. Consult the
course website for the complete explanation and relative weights of the grading
criteria. (See Figure 2.)
One of the most important criteria in the poster grading is analysis: forty percent
on the individual draft and thirty percent on the final. As you choose what to include in
your poster, and how to present your research, remember that analysis is really
important in this project: we do not want you to simply describe your topic We want
you to analyze the importance and/or implications of your topic. That means that you
must explain cause and effect relationships– why something happened, or how it
changed the course of history.
CONCLUSION
Mar 19th to 26th
•Review meetings
Apr 2nd to 8th
•Final team posters due
DESIGN AND FORMATTING TIPS






Note the text font sizes throughout this poster. But, also remember, that font sizes can be different for different font types. [Garamond; Arial;
Papyrus; Verdana ; Lucinda blackletter ; Monotype Corsiva ; Herculanum]. Most importantly, be sure your font sizes are consistent. It is helpful
to turn off auto-fit or auto-format in the preferences menu.
It is a good design technique to choose one font for titles and subtitles, and another for text. Too many fonts are distracting and
unprofessional.
Format paragraphs with a first line indent of 0.3; and format your line spacing at 1.0 with 0.0 lines before and after paragraphs. This will give
you the best ability to control “white space” between titles and text.
One of the most effective design components is a conceptual diagram that illustrates your research and analysis. Think of something like
Diamond’s figure 4.1 – it captures and summarizes his entire argument. In Powerpoint, you can use SmartArt to construct a schematic
illustration. Even a timeline is a very helpful tool to convey information. If you compose a figure, please give yourself credit by labeling it
accordingly while also giving credit to sources. For example: created by author based on whatever source(s).
Another tip for design is to choose a background and color scheme that capture or accentuate your topic. Use Format Themes. Experiment
with transparencies and soft edges for text boxes and pictures. Try recoloring images– you can adjust the tone of pictures to sepia or other
theme shades. Print a draft to see how your color choices, backgrounds, images, and fonts actually print. It is often significantly different than
what you view on the computer screen. Borders are often difficult to line up exactly, so be sure to print a draft to see how they look.
While you are composing, it is helpful to copy your draft to a number of Powerpoint slides (in the same file) so that you can compare various
designs, such as colors and font styles. This way, you can include all of your various ideas for potential content, images, timelines– and then
later and choose those that are best, or those that best fit together.
Notes or References
1
(12 pt; citations 10 pt)
Forbidden
Faults
 Do not use a picture
or a bright color for
the poster
background
 Do not include clip art
 Do not use the font
comic sans
 Do not trim the edges
of the poster
 Do not use
cardboard, glue,
construction paper,
ors or tape
 Do not include “Fun
Facts”
>>> Be sure your references are in proper format! You may use footnotes or parenthetical formats, but you must follow an established style guide (APA, MLA, Chicago).
Vonhof, Sarah. 2014. FOR 203 Western Civilization and the Environment Website. Syracuse: SUNY-ESF. www.esf.edu/for/vohof/courses/wce/
This is your opportunity to personalize the
course and hone valuable research, and
communication skills. Be creative and have fun with
this assignment. Here are some things to think
about as you research, prepare, and perfect your
poster:
 Is your poster interesting and relevant? Is
the design appropriate and professional?
 Have you clearly and fully described the
person/topic/event?
 Is your analysis critical and relevant? Are
the explanations/implications thorough
and clearly?
 There is no short-cut for proofreading.
Even spell-check will not perfect all of
your possible errors.
Do not wait to get to work on this project. Your
individual drafts are intended to be good, solid
efforts at for the project, and they are graded.
Lastly, remember that the teaching team is
always there to help.