© Kathryn Tosney
Chair of Biology
The University of Miami

Tosney home page
Society for Developmental Biology
ktosney@miami.edu

5. Be wordy, but avoid explanations.

Bury -or omit- the message

Be wordy

Particularly avoid highlighting the message in large type: highlight the methods instead.

State the main point only in the middle of long lines of text: methods sections or legends are ideal.

Avoid stating the results or interpretation and NEVER state the conclusions.

Use passive voice and complex sentence constructions.

Use long sentences, long paragraphs, and avoid topic sentences; the more topics in each paragraph, the better

Never use just one word when 10 words will do.

Repeat text verbatum in all figure legends. Explain everything--except the main point.

1. negative 1. positive 2. negative 2. positive	7. negative 7. positive 8. negative 8. positive
3. negative 3. positive 4. negative 4. positive	9. negative 9. positive 10. negative 10. positive
5. negative 5.positive 6. negative 6. positive	11.negative 11. positive poster home page