Rubric for Judging Research Posters
Name of Presenter:
Excellent
Good
Fair
Audience Awareness
Content
Visual Design
Text Design
Professionalism
Audience Awareness
Excellent: The writer takes pains to address the educated lay audience by adjusting word choice, style, and content. The writer does not assume that the reader is in the same discipline.
Good: There is some attempt to address the educated lay audience, but the writer sometimes lapses into an alternate style (for example too technical for a lay audience or too colloquial for a scholarly audience).
Fair: The writer tends to forget the audience and simply presents the topic or issue; the writer uses essay-like conventions or style.
Content (Background, Purpose, Methods, Results, Interpretation, Conclusions)
Excellent: A quick review of the poster makes clear what research the writer is conducting and why. Enough background is provided for context. Methods are clear, results are presented logically but concisely, and data have been interpreted so that the significance of the research is easy to grasp. The research seems important and interesting.
Good: The reader may have to pause or to search a bit, but the poster does provide some background and explains what the research is about, how and why it is being conducted, what the results are, how they can be interpreted, and why they are significant. In some cases there may have been too much emphasis on any one of these elements for the educated reader.
Fair: The poster may be lacking in background, purpose, methods, results, interpretation, or conclusions. Or, these elements may be present but are either over- or under-developed for the audience. It’s hard to say why the research is important, or it doesn’t seem interesting.
Visual Design
Excellent: Color is used purposefully and tastefully to attract attention and guide the reader. Everything can be read legibly from a distance of three feet. Fonts are not distracting and are used uniformly and artistically (all headings the same type and size at each level, for example). Pictures, graphs, or other visual elements such as bullets reinforce the content and present it in another way that is appealing and that makes it easier to grasp.
Good: Color has purpose but may be less than tasteful and somewhat distracting. The poster is legible from a distance of two feet and looks balanced. Fonts are not distracting and are used uniformly (all headings the same type and size at each level, for example). Pictures, graphs, or other visual elements such as bullets reinforce the content but may not illuminate it especially well.
Fair: Color is used randomly. The poster is not legible from a distance of two feet. Fonts are not uniform in type or size. Pictures, graphs, or other visual elements such as bullets are not related to the content or look amateurish. There may be too much or not enough white space so that the poster looks unbalanced or crowded.
Text Design
Excellent: All lists are in parallel structure, with distinctions clear between ordered and unordered lists. Text is concise and easy to read, with chunks of text broken into manageable bits.
Good: Lists are mostly in parallel structure. Text is sometimes formatted in large chunks which look like they are taken directly from a research paper.
Fair: Lists are not parallel. Text dominates the poster in large chunks which often look like they are taken directly from a research paper.
Professionalism
Excellent: No misspellings or grammatical errors. The poster looks professional—no loose pages, staples, or hand lettering.
Good: The grammar and spelling may not be perfect, but the errors are not very distracting. The presentation is neat and presentable, but not memorable.
Fair: Spelling and punctuation errors make the poster difficult to read. The poster looks like it was prepared hastily and may be creased, dirty, or poorly mounted.
Audience Awareness
Excellent: The writer takes pains to address the educated lay audience by adjusting word choice, style, and content. The writer does not assume that the reader is in the same discipline.
Good: There is some attempt to address the educated lay audience, but the writer sometimes lapses into an alternate style (for example too technical for a lay audience or too colloquial for a scholarly audience).
Fair: The writer tends to forget the audience and simply presents the topic or issue; the writer uses essay-like conventions or style.
Content (Background, Purpose, Methods, Results, Interpretation, Conclusions)
Excellent: A quick review of the poster makes clear what research the writer is conducting and why. Enough background is provided for context. Methods are clear, results are presented logically but concisely, and data have been interpreted so that the significance of the research is easy to grasp. The research seems important and interesting.
Good: The reader may have to pause or to search a bit, but the poster does provide some background and explains what the research is about, how and why it is being conducted, what the results are, how they can be interpreted, and why they are significant. In some cases there may have been too much emphasis on any one of these elements for the educated reader.
Fair: The poster may be lacking in background, purpose, methods, results, interpretation, or conclusions. Or, these elements may be present but are either over- or under-developed for the audience. It’s hard to say why the research is important, or it doesn’t seem interesting.
Visual Design
Excellent: Color is used purposefully and tastefully to attract attention and guide the reader. Everything can be read legibly from a distance of three feet. Fonts are not distracting and are used uniformly and artistically (all headings the same type and size at each level, for example). Pictures, graphs, or other visual elements such as bullets reinforce the content and present it in another way that is appealing and that makes it easier to grasp.
Good: Color has purpose but may be less than tasteful and somewhat distracting. The poster is legible from a distance of two feet and looks balanced. Fonts are not distracting and are used uniformly (all headings the same type and size at each level, for example). Pictures, graphs, or other visual elements such as bullets reinforce the content but does not illuminate it especially well.
Fair: Color is used randomly. The poster is not legible from a distance of two feet. Fonts are not uniform in type or size. Pictures, graphs, or other visual elements such as bullets are not related to the content or look amateurish. There may be too much or not enough white space so that the poster looks unbalanced or crowded.
Text Design
Excellent: All lists are in parallel structure, with distinctions clear between ordered and unordered lists. Text is concise and easy to read, with chunks of text broken into manageable bits.
Good: Lists are mostly in parallel structure. Text is sometimes formatted in large chunks which look like they are taken directly from a research paper.
Fair: Lists are not parallel. Text dominates the poster in large chunks which often look like they are taken directly from a research paper.
Professionalism
Excellent: No misspellings or grammatical errors. The poster looks professional—no loose pages, staples, or hand lettering.
Good: The grammar and spelling may not be perfect, but the errors are not very distracting. The presentation is neat and presentable, but not memorable.
Fair: Spelling and punctuation errors make the poster difficult to read. The poster looks like it was prepared hastily and may be creased, dirty, or poorly mounted.
