Choosing where to submit
Start with the venue your faculty mentor recommends — a regional undergraduate research conference, a discipline society meeting, a student division of a professional conference. Read the call for abstracts for scope, format (talk, poster, lightning), length, and deadline. Submitting to the right-sized venue first (a friendly regional one) beats aiming too high and getting a hard rejection.
Writing the abstract
A conference abstract is a compressed argument: the problem, what you did, what you found (even if preliminary), and why it matters. Write it in plain language, fit the word limit exactly, and have your mentor and the writing center read it. This is what reviewers accept or reject on.
Funding the trip
Registration, travel, and lodging add up. Conference-travel funds, your department, the Graduate Student Association or a student org, and sometimes the maker or research grant will cover parts — apply a term ahead with a short justification your mentor signs. Share a room, book early, and check whether the conference has a student rate or a travel award.
Building the talk
For a 12–15 minute talk: one idea per slide, minimal text, a figure that carries the point, and a clear arc (question → approach → result → meaning → next). Practice out loud until it fits the time with a minute to spare. Prepare for the three questions you most dread. Book a presentation-practice room and run it in front of someone.
Building the poster
A poster is read from across a room and up close. Big title, a one-line takeaway near the top, a visual flow (columns, numbered sections), few words, big figures. Have a 30-second version and a 3-minute version of the walk-through ready. Bring small handout cards with your contact and a link.
Making the trip count
Go to other students' sessions, introduce yourself to one or two people whose work you follow, attend a workshop, and collect a few contacts. Afterward, connect with the people you met, share your slides or poster PDF if asked, and write a short reflection for your portfolio. A conference is a network event as much as a presentation.
Fictional information
UW–Porter Falls is a work of parody. Every office, person, building, phone number and statistic on this page is invented; nothing here describes a real institution or a service you can actually contact.