Skip to Main Content

Poster Presentations: Poster Structure

Key considerations

Your message should be as clear as possible with blocks of text and images to support it. Choose a title that will grab the attention of your audience and that clearly sums up the work you are presenting. It is important to use clear statements supported by data and don't forget to re-affirm your main points in the conclusion.

The purpose of your poster may vary depending on the context and nature of the work being presented.  Whether your poster is submitted as an assignment or for a conference, ask yourself what you want the person looking at it to do.  For example, do you want them to…

  • Understand the different stages of your research project?
  • Engage in a discussion about the content?
  • Learn enough about something so that they can go off and try it for themselves?
  • Collaborate with you in some way?
  • All/None of the above?

In other words, it is important to shape the message of your poster according to its main purpose!

If you are using your poster to present research findings, remember to:

  • Explain why your work is important.
  • Identify the gap that your project is trying to address.
  • Describe the objectives of your work.
  • Briefly explain the methods used for your research/project/study.
  • Concisely state results, conclusions and recommendations.

Structure

A poster is not merely an essay stuck onto a board, but rather, a visual presentation of your work or research that demonstrates the significance of your findings.  Keep in mind the size of your poster to determine what/how much content information you will be able to include - and remember to use the space wisely.

Typically, posters might include:

  • Title
  • Author & Institutional affiliation
  • Introduction (e.g., a brief overview of, for example, the reasons the research was carried out)
  • Methods (e.g., description of methods you used to carry out the research)
  • Results (e.g., graphs, tables, images, text etc. to highlight your findings)
  • Conclusions (e.g., a brief conclusion of your research and, if relevant, indications of future research)
  • Acknowledgements
  • References (make sure your references are presented in the correct format)

There are many different and creative ways in which you can layout your poster.  Typically, posters designed for conference presentation tend to include common elements (e.g., introduction, methods etc.) but they can take many forms, so remember to think carefully about the purpose of your poster and if it is an assessed piece of course work, check the precise requirements before you begin.

Further Reading