Presentations: posters

If your poster is part of a degree assignment, remember to follow the module guidance. Marking criteria will vary across departments. For instance, are you required to include a reference list? Is a handout compulsory or optional?

A typical marking scheme might include the following aspects:

• knowledge and understanding
• critical analysis
• sources and referencing
• presentation skills.

An academic poster and its presentation are sometimes marked as one submission, so it is important to find out if this applies in your department. If you are expected to present your poster as well as create it for display, see our advice on presentation delivery.

You may find it helpful to think about the different areas that are likely to be marked and make sure your poster fulfils them. The following aspects are worth considering and addressing to help gain marks:

• Content and argument
  Is your research question or hypothesis, as well as definitions, clear and concise?
• Methodology
  Is it clear how you gathered your data (facts, interviews, statistics, texts etc), and have you shown any limitations to your methods?
• Poster design
  Is your poster well structured and focussed with a clear reading order? Does your format use appropriate sizing, graphics and spacing?
• Criticality and effort
  Is there evidence of effort in your data analysis/interpretation? Have you offered an original interpretation in your evaluation and conclusion of the topic?