Poster Tips

Posters are a common way to present scholarly work

Use these tips to create an effective poster to communicate your project. Check our social media for upcoming Poster Making Workshops. Additional poster writing workshops are held by SP@RC Lab located in Fenwick Library. For additional information, please visit their website. 

Downloadable Poster Templates

Poster Writing Tips

1- Sketch poster on paper first. Information that must be included: 

Title section 

  • Title of presentation: Usually 96-140 point, Sentence case 

  • Author name(s) 

  • Affiliation (department or program) 

  • Email Contact 

50% text and 50% visuals, which can include pictures, maps, graphs, diagrams, or block text. 

Sections should include most of the following. These may be named differently, depending on your discipline. If unsure, check prominent research journals or other posters in your field and use those articles as a model. 

  • Research question, thesis statement, or hypothesis (Bold this if it is embedded in text). 

  • Abstract/Introduction 

  • Literature Review/Background 

  • Methods 

  • Results/Evidence 

  • Discussion/Conclusion/Further Directions 

  • Acknowledgements 

  • Bibliography/Literature Cited 

2- Set Poster size and shape first in page set-up (Design or file)

  • Always check with conference about their allowable size (56” by 40” PowerPoint maximum) 

  • OSCAR standard poster size: 48" wide by 36" height 

3- Layout color scheme and background in slide master

Insert background on master, not slide 

  • The background can be picture, texture, or solid color. 

  • Pictures should be used cautiously, as they have a tendency to make the poster too busy or difficult to read. 

Pick text color that is legible and has high contrast to background 

  • Use dark text on light background for easier printing. 

4- Make your own style guide

Use a standard method for each type of text: 

  • Sections and subsections (Bold, 30-36 point) 

  • Text font large enough to be read from a distance (18-24 point) 

  • Figure captions (18-24 point)- all visual elements should include a figure caption to help readers understand the significance of the graphic, even if they are not reading all the text! 

  • Note which colors, italics, bold, and other treatments you are using for each type of text 

5- Use grids and guides (view or view guides) to design layout logically

  • Snap to grid, set grid to 0.5 inch (right click on slide, not available) 

  • Guides: Use Control or Option to make more guides, Use Dynamic Guides) 

  • Align objects, don’t cross your guides. 

6- Print your poster

You can print posters for free through the SP@RC Lab, located in Fenwick Library. To schedule an appointment, go to the SP@RC website.

Do give SP@RC plenty of time to print your poster, especially right in the spring when they are really busy. Don’t wait until the day they are due! 

If you choose not to use a SP@RC, your school or college may have a large format printer for posters.  Ask your faculty mentor or check with the dean’s office to see if this option is available to you. Again, paper can be of lower quality, and they usually need a long lead time to print. 

7- Additional Hints

  • Posters tell a narrative about your project, starting at the upper left corner and concluding at the lower right corner. 

  • Bold your research question, thesis statement, or hypothesis at the beginning of the poster, and the sentence that summarizes your final conclusion at the end, to make it easier for the reader to find this important information. 

  • Your color scheme and design should match the topic of the poster. Comic Sans font might work on a poster about elementary education, but not about mortuary rituals. 

  • Text – set up your first text box based on style, then copy and paste to reuse. 

  • Picture – insert object (when poster is complete, use format picture to reduce file size) 

  • Graphs – can copy-and-paste or drag-and-drop from Excel, but be careful using this method, as sizes and colors can change based on pre-set styles.