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Toni Anaya
Putting the Pieces together: Writing the Abstract, Identifying Key Points and Conclusions
We understand that you have several years of experience writing research papers so we are going to focus on what you will need to be thinking about when you are preparing a poster presentation for your senior capstone. The content is all based on your research but needs to be modified to help readers understand your research findings.
After this session, you will be able to:
- Recognize the difference between an introductory paragraph and an abstract
- Understand components of an abstract to summarize your research
- Design key points which will assist with public presentations/poster creation
- Compose a conclusion/discussion paragraph on your findings
- Identify future related research topics
Definition of a Poster Session
A poster session is a small overview of your research. It can be a combination of text, graphics and images that make up a visually pleasing presentation. Poster sessions usually happen at research fairs or professional conferences and involve showing a summary of your work to groups of people. Historically, the NCPA Senior Showcases were held in a large room with all of the posters placed on easels around the room. As people enter the room, they move from poster to poster, quickly reading your poster and learning about your research. This format has a slower pace than verbal presentations which allows readers to read your information and discuss it with you one on one.
What content to include on your poster
Since this is a brief summary of your research, you can’t just slap your whole research paper on this poster slide and expect people to be able to read the whole thing! Instead, you will have to be very deliberate and focus on content that people who have not done similar research can read and understand in 5 minutes OR LESS. If you do a good job on choosing and writing your content, it will serve as notes for you to then expand on and explain the highlights of your research. Whenever you are working on a poster, keep asking yourself if you are including the most important information you want readers to know. You can’t share everything so focus on the most interesting and significant!
Key Takeaways
Required content on your presentation slide:
- Abstract
- 2-4 key points
- Discussion and future research topics
- Citations in MLA format
The Difference Between an Abstract and an Introduction
Key Points: Quality over Quantity
When chosen well, key points serve two purposes: they share interesting information about your research and can serve as notes for you! In a research paper, main or key points are usually shared as evidence in your research papers and support your argument. On a poster, key points should not be blocks of text but instead short sentences that convey the 3-4 key points you found in your research.
Images of graphs and charts also serve as a way to present a lot of information that is easy to review and understand. You need to be careful with the images you choose: since this is a research poster, you need to make sure the graph speaks for itself and does not need a bunch of text to explain the information.
Key Point Examples
- Key points share interesting facts about your research.
- Images of graphs or charts can also be used to support your findings.
- Avoid lengthy blocks of text. Short, informative sentences are best.
Write your Key Points
- Review the worksheet that you completed in Module 3: Reading and Evaluating Sources
- Skim your articles and if possible, identify an image that will support your findings
- Using the same document you used for your abstract, draft 3-4 key points related to your research question
Conclusions: Tying it all together
Similar to introductions, you all have experience writing conclusions however, for a poster, your conclusion will be condensed and focused only on the content you discuss on your poster. Your conclusion should also include a brief mention of future research you would be interested in pursuing based on your findings.
Don’ts
- Do not start your conclusion with “this paper…”, “this report…” or “I agree with…”. It is better to write about the research than about the paper.
- Do not explain the sections or parts of the paper.
- Avoid sentences that end in “…is described”, “…is reported”, “…is analyzed” or similar.
- Do not begin sentences with “it is suggested that…” “it is believed that…”, “it is felt that…”or similar. In every case, the four words can be omitted without damaging the essential message.
- Do not repeat or rephrase the title.
- Do not refer in the abstract to information that is not in the document. If possible, avoid trade names, acronyms, abbreviations, or symbols. You would need to explain them, and that takes too much room.
Compose a Conclusion
References
Conclusion pyramid modified from:
Randazzo, Laura. “How to Write a Conclusion Paragraph “ Teachers Pay Teachers. Web. Jul 13, 2020 <https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/How-to-Write-a-Conclusion-Paragraph-FREE-Slides-Handout-Model-Conclusions-3462619>.