In week 14 – the week after Thanksgiving – we will share the research we have been doing on “Putting the Present into Historical Perspective.” Each day a group of students will present their research in a poster presentation. The rest of the class (the other 2/3) is responsible for showing up as an attentive and engaged audience.

How to prepare for your poster presentation?

• You should come to class on the day of your presentation with a printed set of pages that we will use to create your poster (more details below)
• Be prepared with a one to two minute (maximum) elevator speech for your project – enough to explain the main idea of your paper and leave your listener interested to know more
• Dress nicely – business professional or business casual
• Be prepared to answer questions from the audience

To make your poster I will have you print out a set of pages and bring these to class. In the first few minutes of class we will tape the pages on a poster board (I will supply poster board, tape, and scissors) while the rest of the class waits outside.

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

• Research Paper Title & Your Name (center top) – print page in landscape orientation
• Overview (left top) – Heading: “Overview” – three to five bullet points: your topic, your research question, and your argument
• Contemporary Issue or Theme (left bottom) – Heading: Give a title that conveys the contemporary issue or theme you are discussing – three to five bullet points or sentences that provide essential background on the issue or event
• Historical Perspectives (center) – 2 or 3 pages devoted to the historical perspectives you examine – Heading: Give a title that conveys the central idea of each historical perspective you will discuss – three to five bullet points or sentences provide details on each historical perspective
• Conclusions (right top) – Heading “Conclusions or Significance” – three bullet points that address the significance of your argument. Answer the “so what” question?
• Bibliography (in Chicago format) (right bottom) – Heading “Bibliography”
  A list of the sources that you have used (will use) in your paper organized by news sources, other primary sources, and secondary sources
• Four or five 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)

Some recommendations:

• For the title page, use the largest font size that will fit. 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 summary of your topic

And a note for the audience:

• Your role is to be engaged listeners – listen carefully to the brief pitch, read the poster, and ask questions of the presenter about the work they have done