AAPT Poster Presentation Guidelines

You may wish to consider a poster presentation as opposed to the traditional oral presentation because posters allow you more time to present to a much larger audience base.

  • Each poster session author will be provided with a 4' x 4' poster board area and mounting pins. The board will indicate the poster number in upper right or left corner. Authors are responsible for mounting their posters the morning of their presentation and removing them as soon as the session ends.  Posters left up past that time will be discarded.

  • All illustrations, charts, etc., to be posted should be prepared in advance as materials for these purposes will not be available at the meeting site. AAPT will provide a reasonable supply of push pins, but we suggest authors provide their own if possible.

  • Each poster must include text in a large enough font (~20 point font) to be read easily by attendees from a distance of 4 to 5 feet or more. Lettering on illustrations should be large and legible. Photographs should be a minimum of 5 x 7 inches. Material should be displayed in logical sequence (introduction, development, conclusion) and each sheet should be numbered.

  • The effectiveness of a poster presentation will be enhanced by using techniques such as mounting the sheets on colored construction paper, etc., to improve the graphic impact. Please note, however, that simplicity, ease of reading, etc., are more important than artistic flair. Illustrations should not be mounted on heavy stock as this could make them difficult to mount on poster boards.

  • Avoid overcrowding figures and cramming too many numbers into tables. Legends and titles should accompany all figures, tables, photographs, etc. in order to allow their immediate identification.

  • No commercial activities or any advertising may be displayed on the posters. Non-compliance with this rule will result in the poster being removed.

  • Requests for extra space to accommodate models or equipment should be made at the time of abstract submission in the “Conflicts/Comments” box on the abstract form and are subject to approval.

  • Authors may wish to bring extra copies of their data and conclusions. No duplication facilities will be available through AAPT. Authors may also wish to provide sign-up sheets for attendees who may wish additional information, reprints, etc.

  • Posters will be arranged by topic on one of three meeting days (Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday) and remain up the full day. Approximately two hours each of those days is set aside for poster presentations when no other sessions are scheduled. The authors need not be present the entire time but if not, should post the hours when they will be at their poster.