Introduction to Conference Poster Writing Contexts
CONFERENCE / RESEARCH POSTER
7th Feb 9.15 – 12.15
Introduction to Conference Paper Writing Contexts
14th Feb 9.15 – 12.15
Conference Paper Writing Contexts
14th March 9.15 – 12.15
Tutorials / Follow Up Tasks
Brief
Introduction
An academic conference is an event in which ideas are presented in the form of papers and subsequently discussed between speakers and their audiences. Conferences are usually developed around a theme and divided into a number of sessions each representing a different topic within that theme. Sessions run concurrently so delegates are obliged to choose between a number of topics on offer at any one time. So, for example, the Association of Art Historians holds an annual conference, hosted by an appropriate institution – a university or gallery. The 2014 AAH Annual Conference will take place in the Royal College of Art. There will be 42 sessions with individual titles ranging from ‘Archival Interventions in Sculpture’ to ‘Zombie Aesthetics’ . Papers are usually written in full and approved in advance by the organisers of a session. These generally take 20 minutes to read out allowing for a 10 minute discussion before the next speaker. A session will last one or two days and the conference two or three days. Taken together the sessions comprise the greater part of the conference. Delegates are therefore spread throughout a number of rooms according to their choice of topic. The conference typically includes two other events: the plenary session and the poster session. The plenary (full) session is an opportunity for all of the delegates to assemble in one large lecture theatre to listen to an invited ‘keynote’ speaker. This would be a well known and highly regarded academic whose work played a significant part in the conference theme. One of the AAH keynote speakers this year is Grayson Perry.
All of this is the context of the poster session. Just as proposals and abstracts are submitted for the acceptance of a paper, proposals are also submitted for the acceptance of a poster since academic
sessions are limited by time and poster sessions are limited by space. For ease of access and display a poster session is often held in a foyer. It would be held at a certain point in the conference and remain on display thereafter. There may be 20 or so posters, each presenting a research topic and each competing for the attention of delegates. The poster therefore has to look interesting from a distance and also have the textual content to hold someone’s attention. The poster is in this way a hybrid of verbal academic content and graphic visual form.
Task
For this project we ask you to write and design a conference poster presenting your choice of research and a position statement. The poster must be A2 size with 1,000 words of text. The work will be assessed according to the strength of the argument and the way it is conveyed in verbal and visual form and the overall coherence of the poster.
Getting started
What is the research idea you want to explore? Can this be expressed in the form of an open-ended question? For example you may like the paintings of Adrian Ghenie and want to know what distinguishes his work. The question might then be: ‘To what extent can Ghenie’s painting be understood as expressionist?’ You would then seek the visual and verbal evidence with which to test this question. Note that any such question requires a body of work and a concept – the aim being to see how they go together.
Once you have collected more than enough material you can think of the project as a montage – how to assemble the words and images to convey your idea. In this process you should ensure that a good portion of the word count puts across your aim in as clear a way as possible. The rest will be given to quotes, sources, your position statement etc.
Try to imagine the poster from the audience’s point of view. It should be sufficiently interesting and intriguing when seen from a distance and sufficiently engaging when read.
The finished poster should comprise:
1 your title, name and institution
2 a position statement
3 the research question explored
4 sources (written formally)
5 images / graphics / diagrams as required
1-4 should occup separate boxes / areas of the poster.
Please be mindful of two pitfalls. Avoid writing in a diaristic way. For example you don’t need to say which books you’ve read – that will be clear from the references. Try to avoid overuse of ‘I’, ‘me’ or ‘my’. Instead you shoould focus on the case you are making – that is what a conference poster is for. Also, be absolutely sure to distinguish quotes from your own words. References should be clearly shown for each quote. If you use too many quotes you will crowd out your argument, so be selective.