We will present our research papers to the class in a poster session. This will be a chance to bring your research together and share it with the class.

The idea of a research poster is that it includes all of the central elements of your research paper in summary form. It is a prompt for the viewer and for you, the presenter. In a poster session you stand in front of your poster and share your research with visitors who pass by.

To Prepare Before Class

Come to class with:

• Hard copies of the pages that will make up your poster as described below (I will bring poster boards and tape or push pins)
• Dress professionally or semi professionally (if you want details, look up “business professional” or “business casual”)
• An “elevator speech” – in 60 seconds or less, tell us what you’ve done in your research project (without reading from notes or your poster)
• And be ready to say more about each aspect of your paper – historiography, primary sources, your argument, your conclusions

How to make your poster?

• To make a simple poster I will have you print out a set of pages. When you come to class, I will have you attach the pages on the poster board.
• You may choose to make your individual pages in Powerpoint or Google Slides – or – as I suggest below, you may simply create a series of text pages

Format recommendations:

• For the title page, use the largest font size that will fit on one page. For titles, try 72 to 80 pt. For your name on the title page, try 64pt.
• For the individual pages, use 48pt for the heading (centered and underlined), 36pt for body text (left justified).
• Don’t use a lot of words. This should be a very condensed version of your topic
• See photos from previous sessions on the Handouts page

The pages that you should print (and where they will go on your poster) include:

• 1. Research Paper Title, History 208, & Your Name (center top)
  • print page in landscape orientation
• 2. Overview (left top)
  • Heading: “Overview”
  • Three bullet points: your topic, your research question, and your argument
• 3. Context (or background) (left bottom)
  • Heading: “Context”
  • Three to five bullet points that provide essential background for your paper
• 4. Historiography (center left middle)
  • Heading: “Historiography”
  • the title of the historical monograph you read
  • summary of topic and research (in two bullet points or a sentence)
  • the argument (in a bullet point or a sentence)
  • your critical perspective (in a bullet point or a sentence)
• 5. Primary Source (center right middle)
  • Heading: “Primary Source”
  • the title of the primary source you examined
  • the author (in a couple bullet points or a sentence)
  • the point of the source (in a couple bullet points or a sentence)
  • your interpretation (in a bullet point or a sentence)
• 6. Conclusions (right top)
  • Heading “Conclusions”
  • Two or three bullet points that address the significance of your argument. So what?
• 7. Bibliography (in Chicago format) (right bottom)
  • Heading “Bibliography”
  • A list of the primary and secondary sources that you have used (will use) in your paper
• Four half-page sized photographs to illustrate (these can fit in between the pages on your poster)
  • print on separate pages or cut out photographs
• Two half-page sized quotation pages (include 1 or 2 quotations on each)
  • one half page for the historical monograph
  • one half page for the primary source