AMA Style Guidelines

Currently in its 11th edition, AMA is the American Medical Association’s default style guide. Medical researchers, writers, and editors use it to produce well-organized and consistent manuscripts. 

Here’s a bulleted list of key attributes for AMA (American Medical Association) style:

• Font and spacing:
  • No specific font is required, but Times New Roman (12 pt) is typically used.
  • Double-spacing is often required for manuscripts, but single-spacing is used in published articles.
• Margins:
  • 1-inch margins on all sides.
• Title page:
  • The title page should include the title of the manuscript, the author’s name(s), institutional affiliations, and word count.
• In-text citations:
  • Use superscript numbers for in-text citations, placed outside periods and commas but inside colons and semicolons.
  • Numbers should appear in the order of citation rather than alphabetically.
  • Example: “The study results were significant.¹”
• Headings:
  • Headings are usually bolded and follow a specific hierarchy, but AMA does not use numbered headings.
  • Major sections may include “Abstract,” “Introduction,” “Methods,” “Results,” and “Discussion.”
• Numbers:
  • Use numerals in almost all cases, including for numbers less than 10, unless starting a sentence.
• Abbreviations:
  • Abbreviate terms after their first use, and include the full term with the abbreviation in parentheses when first mentioned (e.g., magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)).
• Oxford comma:
  • AMA does not require the Oxford comma, but it is strongly recommended.
• References list:
  • Appears at the end of the document, titled “References” (not bolded or underlined).
  • List references numerically in the order they were cited in the text.
  • No hanging indent; the reference number is placed flush left, and the citation follows on the same line.
  • Single-space references within each entry and double-space between entries.
• Journal article citation format:
  • Author(s). Title of the article. Journal Name. Year;Volume(Issue)
    . doi: or URL
  • Example: Smith J, Doe A. The effects of treatment. JAMA. 2021;320(5):123-130. doi:10.1001/jama.2021.12345
• Book citation format:
  • Author(s). Title of the book. Edition number (if applicable). Publisher; Year.
  • Example: Johnson P. Clinical Medicine. 3rd ed. McGraw-Hill; 2019.
• Website citation format:
  • Author(s). Title of web page. Website Name. Published Date. Accessed Date. URL
  • Example: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. COVID-19 guidelines. CDC.gov. Published May 15, 2022. Accessed June 3, 2023. https://www.cdc.gov/covid19

How Good Is Your AMA Knowledge?

1. What is the correct way to cite a print book, at minimum? (Correct answer: Author(s). Book Title. Volume # and title. Edition #. Publisher name; copyright year.)
2. How are authors cited? (Correct answer: always include the last name and the first and middle initial of the authors without punctuation.)
3. When are commas used in a bibliography? (Correct answer: if the items are sub-elements of a bibliographic element or a set of closely related elements (e.g., the authors’ names).)
4. How are references cited in text? (Correct answer: using superscript arabic numerals.)