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You may choose one of two presentation formats: either a poster presentation, or a 10-12 minute talk. Your audience will include younger students as well as supporters who may not know anything about biology, so your presentation should be geared for a general (but interested!) audience.
TALKS
Talks are scheduled in 15 minute blocks, including a 10-12 minute oral presentation (with slides), and a couple of minutes afterwards for Q&A. While most people find public speaking stressful, this kind of performance can feel like a major accomplishment in your life as a biology major.
Ahead of your presentation, you will share a set of Google slides with the chair of the Biology Department
Citations: on relevant slides, include author + year + journal - no other info necessary
For figures that you did not create yourself, specify your source and indicate "taken from" or "modified from"
Please do not include a "references" slide!
Feel free to bring props!
EXAMPLE SLIDES:
Ava Rao '25 presented a talk on original research. Her slides are here; note that she included well laid-out and interesting visuals, accompanied by very little text. Ava followed the "one slide per minute" rule.
Uni Vang '25 presented an excellent talk based on original research. His slides are here; note that while there is a VERY large number of slides, many of them are "stepped" - e.g. slides 3-5 are essentially one slide with minor tweaks to change emphasis during explanation.
POSTERS
During the poster session, you will display your poster and be available for question-and-answer. Poster sessions are highly interactive and feel much more casual than talks; they provide a chance to really engage in conversation about your work. But: note that this option will require you to be “on” for the full session time! If you have never attended a poster session, you should check out Mac’s Summer Showcase during Mac Fest to get an idea of what these events feel like.
Information on printing posters at Mac, including templates, is here! You must submit your poster for printing one week ahead of your presentation.
Maximum dimensions:
Poster boards are 47" wide and 68" high
On-campus poster printer is 42" wide
Include a brief literature cited section
Maximum of 10 sources listed on poster
Include author + year + journal - no other info necessary!
You may link out to a more detailed/extensive bibliography via QR code if you and/or your capstone advisor think it's important to do so
You may link out from your poster via a QR code to media, supplemental material, etc.
Feel free to bring props, such as a laptop (or other screen) to display video!
TIPS ON POSTER DESIGN: Check out this set of slides from the Library on how to design an effective poster! Note, the final couple of slides are what NOT to do...
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