Presentation Guidelines

Judges shall evaluate oral and poster presentations for each division based on the following criteria. Presentations will be judged partly on how well you follow the guidelines.

1. Presentation adequately discussed points required in the submitted abstract.
2. The presenter appeared knowledgeable and informed.
3. Presenter was engaging and enthusiastic.
4. The material was presented in an organized, coherent fashion.
   For Posters—visual appeal, organization & flow.
5. Student was articulate, focused, and maintained good eye contact with audience.
6. Where appropriate, technology was used effectively during presentation. Presenter responded knowledgeably to audience questions.
7. Presentation stayed within the 15-minute time limit.

Judges will not necessarily be professors from the presenter's department.

• Presentations must be rehearsed.
• Presentations must be no longer than 15 minutes. Timing is critical to evaluation. Moderators will notify presenters when there are 5 minutes remaining and when time is up.
• Rehearse with your finalized slideshow to ensure that you stay within the time limit.
• Do not read from slides. Use slides to provide supporting data, summarize points and to enhance the presentation. Delivering a presentation in which you simply read what is on your slides is a sure way to lose points.

The graphics you use to support the spoken word should help clarify ideas, emphasize key points, show relationships, and provide the visual information your audience needs to understand your message. Please see the recommendations below:

• Keep visuals clear and simple.
• Abbreviate your message.
• Avoid using too many colors, patterns, and busy graphics.
• Limit words for text and title frames. Use no more than five to eight lines per frame and five to seven words per line.
• Do not use all-uppercase lettering.
• Vary the size of lettering to emphasize headings and subheadings, but avoid using more than three font sizes per frame.
• Use easy-to-read font styles such as Arial or Helvetica.
• Try to maintain the same or similar font size from frame to frame.
• Contrasting colors work best. Keep backgrounds light and text/graphics darker.
• Highlight main point or heading with a dominant color (example: red heading, black body copy on light background).
• Avoid intensely bright colors that compete with the text or don’t show up well (for example: yellow text on white background.)
• Keep color scheme consistent throughout your presentation. Changing colors and type styles can be confusing and will distract from your message.
• In addition to the use of graphics, photographs can provide an excellent means for communication. Combined with simple straightforward graphics, illustrations, cartoons and artwork, the photographs will bring another dimension to your presentation.

Posters have become an increasingly popular method for presentation of research at scientific meetings as they promote greater interaction between the researcher and other scientists. A properly constructed poster can be used repeatedly, and become part of a long-term display.

• Limit the size of your poster to 3’ high x 7’ wide (36" high x 84" wide).
• Include the abstract title, author name[s], and the institution where the work was completed in large letters at the top of the poster.
• Include address, phone, and email address in the upper right-hand corner.
• Include the abstract in the upper left side of the poster
• Use headings: introduction, methods, results, and conclusions to identify your poster layout.
• Posters should stimulate discussion. Therefore, keep text to a minimum.
• Emphasize graphics and ensure that every item included is necessary.
• Distribute handouts to supplement your poster.
• Type size should be at least 14 points and double spaced. Materials must be easily read at a distance of 4 feet. Small type or carelessly prepared handwritten copy is unacceptable.
• Place related materials (e.g. photo with accompanying text) close together, and group them by framing with blank space or borders.
• Space your information proportionally: divide your poster either horizontally or vertically into three or four sections, and place your materials within those spaces.
• When choosing a background, remember that light, neutral, pastel or gray colors will be easier on the eyes than bright or dark colors. In addition, color photos look best when mounted on gray or white.

Bring pushpins, thumbtacks or Velcro to mount your poster. These items will NOT be provided to you at the symposium.

Presenters must be at the assigned space during the designated time to discuss the work presented.

Symposium Finalists can have their posters printed in-house by the College of Arts and Sciences Office of the Dean. There is no charge for this service. Please contact Miriam Ahmed if you have any questions.

Instructions for making your file press-ready

• Maximum poster size: 3' x 7' (36" x 84").
• Your file page size must be set to the actual size to be printed. We will not resize files. If you submit a lettersize document, your poster will be printed lettersize. (To set page size in PowerPoint, go to the Design tab and click Page Setup).
• Use a high-resolution version of the Howard University Clock Tower logo on your poster. Do not use the Howard University Seal. When inserting the Howard University logo, please keep the aspect ratio locked - the horizontal and vertical scale percentages must be identical.
• Files must be Adobe PDF. If your computer cannot convert your PowerPoint file to PDF, use this FREE online service: www.doc2pdf.net. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on "Choose File".
• Review the PDF version of your poster for mistakes or changes which may occur during conversion to PDF before submitting. It is a good idea to ask someone who is unfamiliar with your research to review your PDF poster. Posters will NOT be reprinted if there is a change after printing.

Deadline to submit files: Friday, March 23, 2012

Students must email press-ready files to Miriam Ahmed at mahmed@howard.edu by Friday March 23, 2012. The earlier you send your file, the better. This gives us time to resolve any issues with your file well before the deadline. Try not to get your poster caught in the rush of last-minute submissions. Include a contact phone number when emailing your file so that we can reach you immediately if there are issues with your file.

Printing

Posters will be printed in color on glossy paper, on a first-come, first-served basis. We cannot guarantee that a poster will be printed if it is dropped off late. PLEASE NOTE: We cannot mount or adhere posters to board, foamcore or any type of backing.

Pick up

You will be notified via email once your poster is ready for pick up. Pick up posters in Locke Hall, Room B-19, M-F 8.30am to 4pm. We will not deliver posters to students or to the Research Symposium location. Posters will be rolled for pick up. When picking up, bring a waterproof covering to protect your poster during transit.

Contact Information

Locke Hall, Room B-19 (Duplicating Center)
Contact: Miriam Ahmed, Webmaster, COAS
Main: (202) 806-6700
Direct: (202) 806-6714 (if no answer, call cell or email)
Cell: (202) 203-8010
Email: mahmed@howard.edu