An academic poster examining: The impact of fake news

During this week, you will learn about fake news, and the impact it has on our world. Start by reading the Oxplore page on fake news:

Based on what you have read, create an academic poster to submit at the end of this week, via the guidelines below. Your poster title should be: “How has fake news impacted on [your topic].”

Select [your topic] from the options provided below for your stream (select ONE option only). Include both examples of fake news which has had an impact, and examples of how fake news has been distinguished from real news.

STEM topics	humanities topics
The development of vaccines	Recent elections
The development of new machine learning technologies	Politics throughout history
Public trust in scientific experts	Freedom of speech
Climate change	Journalism

Poster guidelines

Your poster should include/follow the guidelines listed below. Advice on all these points is found in the ‘Creating an academic poster’ section below.

• A title (selected from one of the options above)
• Your first name, and the St John’s Inspire Programme logo
• A2 size (portrait or landscape)
• Digital or hand-drawn
• Use good quality, peer-reviewed information
• A reference list of academic sources
• Use only copy-right free images (and include a statement to confirm this)
• Be saved as a PDF file

Your poster should include your first name and the St John’s Inspire Programme credits ONLY. DO NOT include any other identifying information, such as your school, other names or any contact details.

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Creating an academic poster

You have probably made posters before, so what makes an academic poster different? Mostly, it is to do with the amount of information that is included on an academic poster. There must be enough to let people see how you have come to your conclusions and decide whether they agree with your approach.

Academic posters are used widely at conferences and research meetings, where many people come together to present their research. You may also have to prepare one during your degree studies. Therefore, making a good academic poster is a key skill.

Watch the video below on ‘Creating an academic poster’.

If you want to return to this video for reference, use these times to help you find the information you need: A2 poster size (01:20), Poster content (06:40), Poster sources (08:35), Referencing (13:50), Organising content (16:45), Finding images (18:55), Creating graphs and diagrams (23:30), Layout (26:10), Colour schemes (28:10), Fonts (31:00), Final touches (35:05), Exporting your poster (36:00)

Information on good content and image sources mentioned in the video is included in the booklet linked below. The example poster produced during the video can also be viewed as a PDF. If you would like guidance on how to use your time this week to create your poster, see the ‘Managing your time’ section below.

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Managing your time

In order to research and create your academic poster, you have a few different tasks to complete. You should plan how you will complete these tasks, to ensure you are able to submit your poster at the end of the week. A suggested task list for each day is provided here.

Monday 3^rd August

• Read the Oxplore page ‘Does fake news matter’
• Select your poster title, based on your strand
• Watch the video ‘Creating an academic poster’

Tuesday 4^th August

• Research your poster title, using good academic sources
• Make notes on the information you find, and begin to group this into main points
• Remember to record your sources, to build your reference list

Wednesday 5^th August

• Organise your information into 2-3 main points you want to make in your poster
• Select images for your poster
• Create any graphs, tables and diagrams

Thursday 6^th August

• Write your introduction and conclusion for your poster
• Arrange your content on your poster
• Select colours, fonts and layout for your poster design

Friday 7^th August

• Make final edits (such as including your first name and the St John’s Inspire logo)
• Check your reference list is complete
• Export your poster as a PDF, and submit it following the guidelines below before 5pm.

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How to enter

1. Create your A2 academic poster and make sure it follows the guidelines listed.
2. Fill out the Competition Cover Sheet.
3. Email your entry and your cover sheet to us at inspire@sjc.ox.ac.uk.

Terms & Conditions

1. All students enrolled on the Year 12 Inspire Programme are eligible to enter this competition.
2. You must complete the Competition Cover Sheet and submit it along with your entry to inspire@sjc.ox.ac.uk before the closing date. If we do not receive a completed cover sheet with your entry, we will NOT be able to consider the entry.
3. The competition closes at 5pm on Friday 7^th August 2020.
4. The work you submit must be entirely your own, and should be one PDF file of A2 size.
5. Competition winners will be contacted via email about a week after the competition’s closing date. For each strand (STEM and Humanities), the following prizes will be awarded:
   1. 1 first-place winner: £20 Amazon gift voucher, entry listed on Inspire Digital
   2. 2 runners-up: £10 Amazon gift voucher, entry listed on Inspire Digital
   3. Finalists: up to 3 finalist entries listed on Inspire Digital