Writing effective bullet points for your poster . . .

What does a bullet point do? Purpose of bullet points. Should grab or hook the reader and keep their attention. Tells key idea only. Or the total sum of the key ideas in a “slide” It’s like a headline (www.copyblogger.com) A good one grabs you. Tells key points. Makes you want to read further.

Characteristics of good bullet points on a slide or poster . . . No full sentences; defeats purpose. Keep tense the same across all bullet points. Be consistent (e.g., start with Cap; end with the same punctuation).

Characteristics of good bullet points (continued) Should all be related to the section (i.e., introduction, synthesis, conclusions). Together, bullet points should look symmetric. Consider sub-bullets, but sparingly.

Characteristics of good bullet points (continued) Can add emphasis with Bold, italics, or underline. Avoid extra words (e.g., “Secondly”, “Another point”). Avoid “fluffy” language, adjectives, etc. Be concise---- 6 x 6 rule (6 bullet points, 6 words each) (www.thinkoutsidetheslide.com) Lofty goal but idea is minimize text.

Bullet points in your poster May want to start out by writing what the key idea is for introduction, synthesis, conclusion sections. Then begin trimming (i.e., simplifying). May take several drafts. Get a 2nd (and 3rd) opinion – naïve reader will see things that you don’t see! Ask, “is this the main point I want to convey to the reader?” Is the content appropriate for this section?

Example for Background: If the PICOT was related to whether depressive symptoms in girls are related to accrual of bone density across adolescence . . . What might the background or intro-duction look like with bullet points? Write down what you think the bullets might be about before you click on the next slide.

What did you write down? Try before you go to the next slide and be sure to read slide annotation on the next slide.

Bullets: intro./background (read annotation) Osteoporosis: a significant health problem; primarily in elderly women (ref). Impacts X million; costing $X annually. >50% of bone mineral density (BMD) accrued in adolescence (ref). Optimum time to maximize “bone bank”. Low BMD associated with adult depression (refs). Depression rises in adolescence; particularly girls (ref). Bone-depression association unknown in girls. Examining whether depression impacts BMD across adolescence may lead to early intervention/prevention efforts for osteoporosis, future fracture. My first bullet indicates the significance of my outcome variable (bone density). It doesn’t talk about bone density per say but rather what the ramification of poor bone density which is osteoporosis. I then gave numbers and dollars to let people know what a costly problem this is. So far, I’ve not said anything about adolescence but now, my 2nd sub bullet tells about bone accrual in adolescence followed by a statement that this is a key time to build up bone (e.g., maximize the bone bank). Next I tell about the independent variable of depression. First, bone BMD is associated with adult depression; next that depression increases in adolescence and finally that we do not know if there is a bone-depression association in adolescent girls. My last statement tells the significance of all of this put together. Your poster WILL NOT include a reference list; my advice for including citations is to include first author last name and year only (e.g., Smith, et al., 2010). Alternatively, if such information is generally available through public website(s), for example from the CDC, you can include CDC, 2010 as the citation. OR, simply state: CDC identifies osteoporosis is a significant problem in primarily elderly women (INSERT URL here). In the upcoming assignment, Abstract Assignment, you will provide a reference list which will include citations in your poster. My best advice is to MINIMIZE THE # of CITATIONS to what is necessary to give appropriate credit for original publication of content and avoid plagiarism. In your draft bullet point submission, include citations as appropriate and feedback will be provided to help minimize space used for citations purposes while also giving appropriate credit/recognition.