Posters, Introduction section

Citations Citations may be included in a poster Discussion section. (See the discussion of the poster Introduction section, below, for information on citations and references.)... 

Figure 9.5 A visual representation of the move structure for a typical poster Introduction section.

We conclude this part of the chapter by identifying some writing conventions that are characteristic of poster Introduction sections ... 

Rewrite the following passages (adapted from Webber et al., 2004, and Wei et al., 2001, respectively) so that they are more suitable for a poster Introduction section. Look for problems with lists, citations, verb tenses, voice, and conciseness. 

E Writing on Your Own Draft Your Poster introduction Section... 

The second audience comprises conference attendees, who read abstracts to determine whose talk to attend or poster to view. Because national conferences typically have multiple concurrent sessions, attendees rely on abstracts to make their decisions about what sessions to attend, where to go, and when. Individuals who read your abstract are likely to be in a related field of chemistry, but most likely will not be in your specific area of chemistry. Thus, it is important to keep your abstract general enough to be readily understood across different areas of science, thereby targeting primarily a scientific audience. In this regard, the conference abstract is more similar to the Introduction section of a journal article than to the abstract of a journal article, the latter written for an expert audience. 

Read excerpts 9K-9M. Based only on the information presented in these Introduction sections, answer the three questions that viewers should be able to answer after reading a poster Introduction ... 

The largest number of citations is found in the Introduction sections of journal articles, posters, and research proposals, consistent with the purposes of the section. Introductions of both journal articles and research proposals often include 15 or more citations in opening paragraphs (often with multiple citations in a single sentence). Far fewer citations (sometimes even none) are included in poster Introductions because of space limitations and the poster s role in emphasizing new results. 

The poster text is divided into the same general IMRD sections as the journal article Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion. Similarly, most posters include an Acknowledgments section, some have an abbreviated References section, and all have a title and author list. Most posters do not include an abstract, in part because of space limitations and in part because an abstract already appears in the conference proceedings. Like the journal article, the IMRD structure of the poster follows an hourglass shape. The top (Introduction) and bottom (Discussion) sections have a broader focus, while the middle sections (Methods and Results) have a narrower focus. Each section of the poster can be divided into individual moves or steps that guide viewers in a conventional way through the content of each section. These moves are analyzed in the next part of the chapter. 

We now read and analyze excerpts from each major section of the poster, beginning with Methods (the section that you are most likely to prepare first) and continuing through the Results, Discussion, and Introduction. The title and author... 

A References section is needed if you cite others works in your poster, unless you inserted an abbreviated reference directly into the text. If you include citations in only one section of your poster (e.g., the Introduction), the References section can be placed at the end of that section otherwise, include the references at the end or bottom of your poster. Format the references with the citation format used in the poster number them in citation order (if you used numerical citations) or arrange them alphabetically (if you used author—date citations). Because of space limitations, references may be abbreviated. Consider the following examples for a poster with numerical citations ... 

Sentences a-c are taken from journal articles. For each, (1) indicate which poster section the information would belong in (Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion) and (2) rewrite the information so that it is appropriate for a poster. 

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