AMA+Style+Guide

7/26/2019 AMA+Style+Guide

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Created by Elizabeth S. Moore, PhD on March 31, 2015.

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Selected Guidelines for Formatting Papers per AMA


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The AMA Manual of Style was designed for use by biomedical professionals. However, the

guidelines for formatting, appearance, and documenting sources can be easily applied to an

academic setting.

Most of the examples and explanations included in this document are based on the American

Medical Association (AMA) Manual of Style: A Guide for Authors and Editors. 10thed. New York,

NY: Oxford University Press, 2007. Unfortunately, the AMA Manual of Style is not explicit in its

discussion of format. In areas in which the manual was not explicit, the author guidelines for

Physical Therapywere used since this is the official journal of the American Physical Therapy

Association. If you are not sure of the formatting after consulting this document and the

document written by Dr. Scribe, check the guidelines for Physical Therapyprovided at the

website.

OVERALL STYLE

Academic papers need not be dull or lack style.

Use active voice throughout

Be specific and concise

Avoid flowery or figurative language

Vary sentence length and complexity to add interest

OVERALL APPEARANCE

Academic papers are treated as copy manuscripts.

Font: A serif type font, such as Times New Roman or Courier, is generally recommended for

the body of the document

A sans serif type font, such as Arial or Tahoma, is generally recommended for table and

figures (Note some journals require same font for all sections of the manuscript.)

Font size 12 point for all sections of the paper

Format:

Margins: Use one inch margins on all pages

Line spacing: Double-space the entire document (Note this is opposed to guidelines

provided by Dr. Scribe and other AMA guidelines documents.)

Left-justify paragraphs

First line indented 0.5

Page numbering: each page, beginning with the title page, should be numbered

consecutively. Page numbers are usually place in the upper, right corner in header (flush

right)


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A short title header goes at the top of the page, aligned with the page number and left

margin (flush left)

Sections, in order of appearance: (1) Title page, (2) Abstract, (3) Body of article, (4)

Acknowledgments, (5) References, (6) Tables, (7) Figure legends, (8) Figures, (9) Video

legends, (10) Appendixes

Title Page:

This is the first page of the manuscript

Center the title

o Titles should not be vague and should reflect measured variables.

o Titles should be no longer than 150 characters (including punctuation and

spaces).

Your name and highest level of degree attained

E-mail address

Authors affiliation

Word count (not including abstract and reference list)

Make your title page its own page

Do not use abbreviations or acronyms in the manuscript title

Abstract:

This is the second page of the manuscript even though several sources report that AMA style

has the title page and abstract combined. When possible, avoid using abbreviations or

acronyms in the abstract.

A structured abstract is required for reports of original data, systematic reviews, or clinical

reviews. Per Physical Therapy, the word limit is 275 words, but this varies from journal to

journal and usually ranges from 150 to 275. The sections of the abstract are dependent on the

type of research conducted (e.g., clinical trial, qualitative study, quality improvement study,

etc.) The basic sections include:

Introduction (Context): question or issue addressed

Method: includes design, setting and participants

Results: major findings

Discussion (Conclusions): answers to the question and clinical application

An unstructured (or conventional) abstract is required for all other major manuscripts. It should

follow the title page of the document. It should be no more than 150 words.


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Headings:

Headings should be used to divide and subdivide the paper into logical and sometimes

sequential sections.

Level 1 headings are single-spaced if more than one line is required, bold font, and

heading capitalization. Level 2 headings are flush left, bold, and heading capitalization.

Level 3 headings are to be paragraph indented, bold, and sentence capitalization.

Level 4 headings are to be paragraph indented, italicized, and sentence capitalization.

Numbers:

AMA uses numeral for numbers except:

Ordinals first through ninth

Numbers used as pronouns

Fractions Numbers that begin a sentences, title, subtitle, or heading

Numbers spelled out in direct quotations

Abbreviations:

Use specific nomenclature. AMA tends not to use punctuation following abbreviations. Chapter

14 of the AMA Manual contains extensive list of approved abbreviations.

Quotations:

Enclose a direct quote of no more than four typewritten lines in double quotation

marks.

For quotes longer than four lines, use a block format in reduced type without quotation

marks.

A superscript number is added at the end of the quotation and the citation is listed with

the other references.

FIRST TEXT PAGE

This is the third page of the manuscript. The title is repeated on the page, serving as a Level 1

heading. It is centered, in bold and heading capitalization. You do not use the heading

Introduction, since all papers begin with an introduction.

IN-TEXT CITATIONS

Each reference should be cited in the text, tables, or figures in consecutive numerical order by

means of superscript Arabic numerals, e.g., it has been reported.25Number the citations in

order as they appear in the text. Each superscript much match one reference in the References


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list. When citing a previously used source, reuse the same superscript number. A sentence can

contain more than one citation. Multiple superscripts are acceptable, separating each with a

comma (no space in front), e.g., it has been reported.25,34,68

The superscript numbers should be placed outside periods and commas, and inside colons and

semicolons.

Example: As reported in a previous study,2

Example: The results of the study support my thesis7; however, further studies should

be done to replicate the results.

If more than two references are cited in a row, use a hyphen to join the first and last numbers

of a closed series. Use commas without a space between numbers.

Example: The derived data were as follows,1,3-8,19

Page numbers are required for direct quotations; they are enclosed in parentheses.

Example, it has been reported.25,34,68,84(p42),102(pp7-9)

If a citation has more than 23 characters, including spaces and punctuation, use an asterisk (*)

in the text and put the citation in a footnote at the bottom of the page.

Example: As reported previously,*

*References 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 21, 24-29, 31.

REFERENCES

A reference page lists all of the works that you use in your paper. The reference page goes at

the end of the document. The title References is centered at the top of separate page. Listreferences numerically in the order by when they were cited in the text. The first reference

cited in text should be listed first. The entire references section should be double-spaced like

the rest of the paper. To create a References page, use the following examples to put your

references in the proper format. If a reference extends to the next line, DO NOT indent the line.

Do not include personal communications in the text. Include the digital object identifier (DOI), if

available, for electronic journals in place of the URL.

Entries are preceded by their number and are given in numerical order.

Author format:

Use the authors surname followed by initials without periods, e.g., Garcia EF, Zahihi GH.

Multiple authors (up to six) are separated by commas.

Do not use and between multiple authors.

For more than six authors, first three listed followed by et al.


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Title format:

Titles retain the spelling, abbreviations, and style for numbers used in the original.

Books: capitalize the first letter of each major word.

Journal articles: Capitalize the first letter of the first word, proper names, and abbreviations

that are normally capitalized.

BOOKS2

Capitalize the first letter of every major word in a title and subtitle and italicize the entire title.

Book with One Author:

1. Sacks O. Uncle Tungsten. New York, NY: Alfred A Knopf; 2001.

Book with Two to Six Authors: Separate the authors names using a comma.

Book with Seven or More Authors: List the first three authors, and then put et al.

Book with an Editor:1. Galanter M, ed. Services Research in the Era of Managed Care. New York, NY: Kluwer

Academic/Plenum; 2001.

Book by an Organization:

2. World Health Organization. Injury: A Leading Cause of the Global Burden of Disease,

2000. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2002.

Book of Second or Later Edition:

3. Adkinson N, Yunginger J, Busse W, Bochner B, Holgate S, Middleton E, eds. Middletons

Allergy: Principles and Practice. 6th ed. St. Louis, MO: Mosby; 2003.

Book Chapter:

4. Solensky R. Drug allergy: desensitization and treatment of reactions to antibiotics and

aspirin. In: Lockey P, ed.Allergens and Allergen Immunotherapy. 3rd ed. New York, NY:

Marcel Dekker; 2004:585-606.

Electronic Book:

1. Rudolph CD, Rudolph AM. Rudolph's Pediatrics. 21st ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill

Companies; 2002.

http://online.statref.com/Document/Document.aspx?DocID=1&StartDoc=1&EndDoc=18

82&FxID=13&offset=7&SessionId=A3F279FQVVFXFSXQ. Accessed August 22, 2007.

JOURNALS

Abbreviate the title according toNLM Guidelines

Italicize journal titles

Full text journal articles obtained via the web, but available in hard copy are not cited as

online serials, but as a regular journal article.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/factsheets/constructitle.htmlhttp://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/factsheets/constructitle.htmlhttp://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/factsheets/constructitle.htmlhttp://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/factsheets/constructitle.html


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Capitalize only the first letter of the first word of the article title and subtitles begin with

a lowercase letter

Journal article (1-6 authors):

1. Hu P, Reuben DB. Effects of managed care on the length of time that elderly patients

spend with physicians during ambulatory visits. Med Care. 2002;40(7):606-613.

Journal article with more than six authors:

2. Geller AC, Venna S, Prout M, et al. Should the skin cancer examination be taught in

medical school? Arch Dermatol. 2002;138(9):1201-1203.

Journal article with no named author or group name:

3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Licensure of a meningococcal

conjugate vaccine (Menveo) and guidance for use--Advisory Committee on

Immunization Practices (ACIP), 2010. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2010;59(9):273.

Electronic Journal article:

If you have a doi (preferred):

4. Gage BF, Fihn SD, White RH. Management and dosing of warfarin therapy. The

American Journal of Medicine. 2000;109(6):481-488. doi:10.1016/S0002-

9343(00)00545-3.

If you do not have a doi:

5. Aggleton JP. Understanding anterograde amnesia: disconnections and hidden lesions. Q

J Exp Psychol. 2008;61(10):14

WEB SITESCite the author (if given), title of item cited (if none given, use the organization name), name of

the Web site, URL, published date (if given), updated date (if given) and accessed date.

1. Truth and reconciliation: examining human rights violations in South Africas health

sector. American Association for the Advancement of Science Web site.

http://shr.aaas.org/trc-med/presub.htm. Published 1997. Accessed April 30, 2004.

ONLINE NEWSPAPERS (For a print newspaper article, follow same as below, but omit the URL.)

2. Weiss R. The promise of precision prescriptions. Washington Post. June 24, 2000:A1.

http://www.washingtonpost.com. Accessed October 10, 2001.

ONLINE GOVERNMENT/ORGANIZATION REPORTS3. Dafney L, Gruber J. Does public insurance improve the efficiency of medical care?

Medicaid expansions and child hospitalizations.http://www.nber.org/papers/w755.

Published February 2000. Accessed February 26, 2004.

ONLINE CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS/PRESENTATIONS
http://www.nber.org/papers/w755http://www.nber.org/papers/w755http://www.nber.org/papers/w755http://www.nber.org/papers/w755


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4. Collins F. Talk presented at: National Human Research Protections Advisory Committee;

April 9, 2001; Bethesda, MD.http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/nhrpac/mtg04-01/0409mtg.txt.

Accessed February 26, 2004.
http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/nhrpac/mtg04%E2%80%9001/0409mtg.txthttp://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/nhrpac/mtg04%E2%80%9001/0409mtg.txthttp://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/nhrpac/mtg04%E2%80%9001/0409mtg.txthttp://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/nhrpac/mtg04%E2%80%9001/0409mtg.txt


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References

1. American Medical Association (AMA).AMA Manual of Style: A Guide for Authors and

Editors. 10thEdition. New York: Oxford University Press; 2007.

2.

Learning and Outreach Services. Texas A&M University Libraries. Using the AMA Format.

http://library.tamu.edu/help/help-yourself/citing-sources/files/Using-the-AMA-Style.pdf.

Published Summer 2009. Accessed August 7, 2014.

3. Health Sciences Library, New York Medical College. AMA (American Medical Association)

Reference Citation Format.http://library.nymc.edu/informatics/amastyle.cfmUpdated

August 25, 2010. Accessed August 7, 2014.
http://library.tamu.edu/help/help-yourself/citing-sources/files/Using-the-AMA-Style.pdfhttp://library.tamu.edu/help/help-yourself/citing-sources/files/Using-the-AMA-Style.pdfhttp://library.nymc.edu/informatics/amastyle.cfmhttp://library.nymc.edu/informatics/amastyle.cfmhttp://library.nymc.edu/informatics/amastyle.cfmhttp://library.nymc.edu/informatics/amastyle.cfmhttp://library.tamu.edu/help/help-yourself/citing-sources/files/Using-the-AMA-Style.pdf

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