LCA XVI Student Poster Submission Formatting and Tips

How to Write the Perfect Abstract for the LCA XVI Student Poster Contest:
Writing a perfect abstract is easy if you follow these directions.
1) Write 1-2 sentences describing the issue you are addressing.
2) Start a new paragraph
3) Write a few sentences describing your approach to the issue. Make sure that this approach is LCA
related.
4) Start a new paragraph
5) Provide some results that describe the key outcomes of your work. If your analysis was measurable,
provide key
numerical results. A small table may be appropriate. If your results are preliminary, that is good:
we are especially interested in new ideas. That is why this conference has a compressed timeline
between abstract submission and the conferencewe want your new ideas.
6) Start a new paragraph.
7) Tell us why your results are important. If they have policy implications, say which ones might be
affected.
Remember that as LCA professionals we are interested in sustainability (especially environmental
sustainability). Tell us how your results help make the world a more sustainable place, or how
they give us a new way to think about sustainability or sustainability analysis.

Using Conftool to Submit your Abstract:

Go to www.conftool.pro/lcaxvi/
Click on the link: Create an account and submit a contribution
Fill in all mandatory fields, which are marked with an *, then choose a username and password.
(Note: if you will be requiring an invitation letter for a visa application to travel to the United
States, please include your passport details and travel plans, this information is not necessary if
you do not require this letter).
Confirm your registration by clicking on Submit and Begin with Submission of Contribution. You
can now enter your abstract. If you wish to confirm your registration and enter your abstract
later simply click on Create a User Account Only, Submit Contribution Later.
Once you create your account, the system will send you a confirmation email. When you receive
it, please validate your email address through the link sent in the email. (Note, if you do not
receive a confirmation email and are unable to log in please contact the conference organizer:
Kelly Griffiths kgriffiths@aclca.org)
ENTER the abstract title in the field at the top
ENTER yourself as an author. Co-authors are added in the same way if they are not located in
the database, you will be asked to enter their information.
DECIDE if you want to write a paper for the conference proceedings: mark the appropriate place.
USE spell check and grammar check.
BE complete! You have a 350 word limit for the body of the abstract, plenty of room to explain
yourself. Also note that abstracts are usually longer than 100 words.
PROPERLY cite works, using the citation system. Citations should be numbered in the text (e.g.
[1]). The system will assign the citation numbers sequentially, so you do not need to enter the
numbers as part of the citation.
SELECT your preferred kind of presentation (Student Poster). If you do not select this option you
will not be entered into the Student Poster Contest.
SELECT up to three topics for your abstract.

REMEMBER: by submitting the abstract you are explicitly and irrevocably giving ACLCA copyright
to the document and to presentation material. If you do not want to have your work appear on
the ACLCA website, do not submit an abstract.
WRITE your paper to be reviewed for the proceedings (if you choose this option).
Make sure to select Complete Submission in order to save your submission. You have until the
submission deadline to edit your abstract before it will be reviewed. To make changes, you can
log back in later and click the edit link. If the body of the abstract does not display properly, it
could be due to formatting that is dragged in from your word processing program. Passing the
text through a simple text editor can usually clean that up.

Things not to do

DO NOT provide an abstract of work that was published elsewhere.

DO NOT focus your abstract on a commercial product developed by your organization. If a new
commercial product was used or developed, focus on the issues it addresses, and the results
obtained from the use of the product. If your abstract seems like a sales pitch, it will be rejected.
DO NOT exclusively cite your own work. If you must cite your work, make sure that your abstract
is building on it, not repeating it.
DO NOT leave out your results! The absence of results is the most common complaint of
reviewers, who especially like to see numbers.
DO NOT run over the 350 word limit.
DO NOT enter the title or authors into the body of the abstract.
DO NOT submit an abstract if you do not intend to be at the conference.
Your abstract will be reviewed by the conference technical committee through a double blind
system.

Last years student poster contest saw some wonderful contributions. If you would like the view abstracts
please click on the link below (some of the high scoring students were the last 4 abstracts on the page):
http://www.lcacenter.org/lcaxvprogrampage-5.aspx

If your abstract is accepted into the Student Poster Contest:

Congratulations! You will need to begin planning your poster layout.

Poster Formatting: The poster should meet the following criteria in order to ensure participation in
the contest.

All posters will be mounted to a poster stand measuring 4 feet high x 8 feet wide (including
frame). All posters can be a maximum of 3 feet high x 3.5 feet wide.
All posters should feature a title, your name, the name of the institution where the research was
performed, and should credit other contributors, as appropriate.
In the upper right hand corner of your poster please write: STUDENT. This should be 1 in height
and in bold letter.
Use a crisp, clean design. All lettering should be legible from about 5 feet (1.5 m) away. Poster
elements should be mounted on 1/8" (.313 cm) foam-core board or less. Thicker boards and
heavy paper will be difficult to pin onto poster boards.
Make illustrations simple and bold, with captions. Enlarge photos, tables, and charts to show
pertinent details clearly.
Do not tell the entire research history. Present only enough data to support your conclusions and
show the originality of the work. The best posters display a succinct statement of major
conclusions at the beginning, followed by supporting text and a brief summary at the end.

Displayed materials should be self-explanatory, freeing you for discussion.

Enhance your effectiveness by mounting your poster on a solid, colored background.
Utilize other techniques to improve the graphic impact. Use color to add emphasis and clarity.
Simplicity, ease of reading, etc., are more important than artistic flair. Keep in mind that lighting
may be dim inside large poster sessions, so make sure your contrasts and color combinations are
easy to read.
For ease of transport, make poster elements small enough to package and carry.
Pack a sketch of your poster layout, measuring tape, push pins (ACLCA will provide a reasonable
supply of push-pins, although it is wise to bring your own), or Velcro, so you can set up your
poster quickly. All material must be removable. You may not write, paint, or use paste on the
board.
You may want to bring handouts of your abstract or copies of your data and conclusions to share
with interested viewers. Some authors also provide sign-up sheets to record names and
addresses of attendees who might wish more information, reprints, etc.
Allow ample time to prepare your poster.

The Poster Contest

Thank you for taking the time to share your research in a student poster and submit it in the student
poster contest. Your contribution to a successful competition is greatly appreciated. There will be 3
reviewers assigned to your poster. For the assignment, the poster coordinating team will make every
effort to avoid conflict of interest. You will not be reviewed by anyone already familiar with your work.
The judging will take place on Wednesday September 27th during the morning and afternoon breaks.
You should plan to be available at your poster during these breaks.

1. Scoring
The posters will be scored and ranked by highest score for first, second, and third place awards
per the criteria given below. Additionally, reviewers are asked to provide separate blind
comments.
Scoring Criteria: An award winning poster should clearly present a new methodology or unique
and successful application of LCA to an environmental problem considering relevant areas of
engineering/science/management/social sciences/economics. Posters will be scored for the
following criteria:
Content refers to the quality of the research presented on the poster such as: data is adequate;
analysis and summaries are appropriate; illustrations are appropriate, understandable, and
informative. Originality: evidence that the student is conducting original work and not verifying
already existing conclusions. Content elements that will be expected by the reviews include
Background/Introduction, Goal and Scope, System Description, Functional Unit, Assumptions,
Methodology, Data Description, Allocation, Conclusions/Discussion, Acknowledgements.
Presentation: Clear, logical and concise. Title is a good index to content; abstract provides an
accurate synopsis of content; objectives, results, and conclusions. Text is sufficient to explain
illustrations, methods and to state objectives and conclusions, but not excessive.
Visual appearance refers to the organization and layout of the content on the poster and the
effectiveness of conveying the content.

Oral presentation refers to the effectiveness of the presenter at verbally explaining the content
on the poster and ability to demonstrate knowledge of the project work by responding to judge's
questions.

2. Awards
All award winners will be recognized at the LCA XVI closing plenary and on the American Center
for Life Cycle Assessment website and newsletter.