The academic poster (H470/03 Task 2, 10 marks): the 750 to 1000 word poster presenting the investigation to a non-specialist audience, assessed for AO5 only, and how to craft it for clarity, accessibility and effective communication.

What this dot point is asking

OCR Component 03's second task is the academic poster: a 750 to 1000 word poster presenting the language investigation to a non-specialist but interested audience, worth 10 marks and assessed for AO5 only. It is the qualification's main test of the student's own crafted writing. This dot point covers what the poster is, the skill of transforming the investigation for a new audience, and how to craft it for clarity, accessibility and effective communication.

The answer

The poster succeeds when it transforms the investigation into clear, accessible, well-crafted communication for a non-specialist audience (AO5). The unifying idea is transformation for an audience: the poster is not a summary of the report in the report's own voice but a deliberate recasting for a different reader, and the AO5 marks reward the writing skill that recasting demands, the selection, the register, the structure and the clarity.

What AO5 rewards

Task 2 is assessed for AO5 alone, so it is judged on the craft of communication, not on the analysis (which is assessed in Task 1).

• Expertise in using English. Controlled, purposeful, accurate prose, with sentences and vocabulary chosen for effect.
• Suitability for audience and purpose. Writing pitched precisely for an informed non-specialist: accessible without being patronising, explaining or avoiding technical terms.
• Effective communication. A clear structure that guides the reader through the aims, method and findings, with the essentials selected and signposted.

The skill of transformation

The poster's central challenge is transformation. The investigation is a long, technical, academic report; the poster is a short, accessible piece for a different audience. This means selecting the essentials (not everything fits in 750 to 1000 words), translating or removing jargon, and restructuring for a reader who will scan rather than study. A poster that simply pastes in chunks of the report fails because it has not been transformed for the new audience.

Craft for clarity and engagement

Within the poster, the prose must work hard: a clear opening that frames the investigation, a concise account of the method, the key findings presented accessibly, and a register that is precise and engaging. The poster form invites headings, a summary and selective detail, used to guide the reader. The goal is a poster that genuinely communicates the investigation to someone who has not read the report.

Examples in context

The poster is the student's own, so the moves below are illustrative.

A model transformation. "Where the report might write 'the data evidenced a statistically notable frequency of synthetic personalisation realised through second-person deixis', the poster would recast this for a non-specialist: 'the adverts constantly spoke to readers as "you", as if talking to a single friend, even though they were addressing millions'. The poster keeps the finding but transforms the register and the terminology for an informed general reader, which is exactly the AO5 skill being assessed." This shows transformation for the audience.

A model structure. "An effective poster opens with a hook and the research question ('Do online reviews really sound like a friend?'), then a brief, accessible account of how the investigation was done, then the key findings in clear, signposted sections, closing on what it all suggests. The structure guides a scanning reader through the investigation without assuming prior knowledge, demonstrating the control of structure and register AO5 rewards." This models accessible structure.

Try this

Q1. Which assessment objective is the academic poster assessed for? [2 marks]

• Cue. AO5 only (expertise and creativity in using English to communicate for a purpose and audience); the analysis is assessed in Task 1.

Q2. Why is "transformation" the key skill of the poster? [2 marks]

• Cue. The poster recasts a long, technical report into a short, accessible piece for a non-specialist audience, which demands selection, a new register and a new structure, not a summary in the report's voice.

Q3. Present the aims, methods and findings of your investigation in an academic poster for a non-specialist but interested audience. [10 marks]

• What the marker wants. Effective, well-crafted communication (AO5): the essentials selected, jargon translated or avoided, a clear structure, and a register pitched precisely for an informed non-specialist.

A note on the NEA

This guide is AI-written and not individually human-reviewed. The poster's word count, format and mark scheme are set by OCR and administered by your centre; confirm them against the current H470 specification and the NEA guidance. The poster is assessed for AO5, the craft of communication.