Page 167 - How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper, 8th Edition 8th Edition

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The organization of a poster normally should follow the IMRAD format, although graphic considerations and the need
for simplicity should be kept in mind. There is very little text in a well-designed poster, most of the space being used
for illustrations.

The Introduction should present the problem succinctly; the poster will fail unless it has a clear statement of purpose
right at the beginning. The Methods section will be very brief; perhaps just a sentence or two

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will suffice to describe the type of approach used. The Results, which is often the shortest part of a written paper, is
usually the major part of a well-designed poster. Most of the available space will be used to illustrate Results. The
Discussion should be brief. Some of the best posters I have seen did not even use the heading "Discussion"; instead,
the heading "Conclusions" appeared over the far-right panel, the individual conclusions perhaps being in the form of
numbered short sentences. Literature citations should be kept to a minimum.

Preparing the Poster

You should number your poster to agree with the program of the meeting. The title should be short and attention-
grabbing (if possible); if it is too long, it might not fit on the display stand. The title should be readable out to a
distance of 10 feet (3 m). The typeface should be bold and black, and the type should be about 30 mm high. The
names of the authors should be somewhat smaller (perhaps 20 mm). The text type should be about 4 mm high. (A type
size of 24 points is suitable for text.) Transfer letters (e.g., Letraset) are an excellent alternative, especially for
headings. A neat trick is to use transfer letters for your title by mounting them on standard (2¼-inch) adding machine
tape. You can then roll up your title, put it in your briefcase, and then tack it on the poster board at the meeting.
Computers can produce display-size type as well.

A poster should be self-explanatory, allowing different viewers to proceed at their own pace. If the author has to
spend most of his or her time merely explaining the poster rather than responding to scientific questions, the poster is
largely a failure.
Lots of white space throughout the poster is important. Distracting clutter will drive people off. Try to make it very
clear what is meant to be looked at first, second, etc. (although many people will still read the poster backwards).
Visual impact is particularly critical in a poster session. If you lack graphic talent, consider getting the help of a
graphic artist. Such a professional can produce an attractive poster either in the traditional board-mounted style or in
the newer single-unit photographic reproduction (superstat).

Robin Morgan, Professor of Animal and Food Sciences at the University of Delaware, told me this: "I'm one of those
'science fair' scientists who love posters, and so we make a lot of them. I write text in Word and prepare individual
graphics as EPS by using McDraw Pro,

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DeltaGraph, and Quark. Then, I send the individual parts to a graphic artist. The artist adds a bit of color here and
there and lays it all out so it looks good. I then have it printed at a service bureau and have it laminated. The cost is
$1,000 per poster (pretty high for many scientists), but it's great to bring home a poster after the meeting and display it
in your office or lab."

A poster should contain highlights, so that passersby can easily discern whether the poster is something of interest to
them. If they are interested, there will be plenty of time to ask questions about the details. Also, it is a good idea to
prepare handouts containing more detailed information; they will be appreciated by colleagues with similar specialties.

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