Style Guides: APA, MLA, ASA, AMA & Chicago

Specific instructions regarding title page format, page numbers, headings, font style and size, and margins are not stated in the AMA manual. Please ask your instructor for their preferences. 

Typical Overall Appearance

• 1' inch margins 
• Double space within the text of the paper
• Left justify paragraphs indented 0.5
• Use 10, 11 ,or 12 point font size

  Page Header

• Title page numbered on the upper right hand corner 
• Subsequent pages with short title header on the left margin and  page number align to the right margin

AMA Style Standard Document Elements

• Title
• Abstract
• Main Text
• References 

Title Page 

Some journals require a title page but not all, AMA style does not specify a font size or type but they do offer recommendations for content. Please note that AMA primarily focus is for authors publishing in journals not student papers so ask your instructor for specific preferences.  The following are components recommended for journal publications.

• Page number right side corner
• Title of paper
• Author's name include first name middle initial and last name
• Author's highest  degree attained 
• Author's notes - institution affiliation for work or for studying (check with instructor if course number and name should be included)
• Word count (not usually used in student papers)

Abstract

Abstracts may or may not be required for your writing assignments, ask your instructor for clarifications. 

• Abstract can be situated on title page or the next page
• The word abstract must be centered and boldface
• Abstract can be structured or unstructured depending on journal requirements 
• Journal publication will have specific word limitation for abstracts
• List of keywords 

Headings 

Headings are use to divide and subdivide the paper to make it easy for the reader.  However headings style vary among journal publications and instructor preferences so always double check. A typical division of sections for research studies is the IMRAD ( introduction, methodology, results, and discussion or conclusion).AMA does not specify formats for headings but make sure to be consistent throughout the paper. 

In-text citations are use to tell your reader where you got the original information. When you use facts that are not common knowledge or from your original thought.  In-text citation are needed for directly quotes, summarized and paraphrased information, or even when you use an idea from someone else. When in doubt, err on the side of caution, and cite.  See section 3.6 of AMA for more in-text citation information. 

Superscript

AMA style uses superscript Arabic numerals to number each of the sources in your text, tables, or figures. The sources are numbered consecutively and refer to the sources listed on the reference list.

The superscript¹ occur at the end of the clause in which you used the information. They occur outside “quotation marks,”² commas,³ (parentheses)⁴ and full stops.⁵ However, they occur inside semicolons⁶; and colons⁷: There is no space between the last letter or punctuation mark and the  superscript number.

AMA recommends that you do not place a superscript reference citation immediately following a number, and advises that you revise the sentence to prevent any possible confusion with an exponent.

Same Citation

Citations should be numbered sequentially; however, once you have given a source a number, it will keep that number throughout your paper. So, if you use your first source again, no matter how often you use it, it is still 1.

Multiple Citations at a Time

Use commas to show that more than one work is being cited, and use hyphens for several works that would be numbered sequentially.

Example: The side effects can have implications for the patient's mental health, as numerous studies have shown.^1,3,6-9

Direct Quotations

You should mostly be paraphrasing which does not require the use of page numbers, but they can be used if you feel it is necessary for clarification or if instructor indicates you to do so. content and only use a direct quote if the exact wording is important and necessary.  Paraphrasing, does not require to use page numbers, but they can be used if you feel it is necessary for clarification or if instructor indicates it.

Use direct quotes sparsely and only if the exact wording is important and necessary. When you use direct quotes you must put the quote in "quotation marks" and use a page number next to the in-text citation.

Example: Rey's support of the Mad Dog theory is equivocal, and he states "I’m not defending Mad-doggery because I believe it."^3(p125)

Author Names

AMA style does not require you to add author name in the text but if you choose to add author names.

• Use only surnames
• For one or two authors, list both surnames
• For more than 2 authors, include only the first author’s surname followed by “et al,” “and associates,” or “and colleagues.”

Example:  Abbott et al² reported on the survey...

Secondary Citations 

A secondary citation is created when an author is cited from within another author's work. It is always preferable to read and cite the original work, and every effort should be made to obtain it. If the original source cannot be obtained, cite the original source, rather than the secondary source in the text of your paper. 

An example would be if Acheson has cited Cauley, but you have not seen the work by Cauley the in-text would be as follow:  Cauley et al¹ reported that the fracture risk among women...

In the reference list, include the work by Acheson after the work by Cauley and include the text ‘Cited by’

Example: Cauley JA, Lui L-Y, Ensrud KE, et al. Osteoporosis and fracture risk in women of different ethnic groups. JAMA. 2005;293(17):2102-2108. Cited by: Acheson LS. Bone density and the risk of fractures: should treatment thresholds vary by race [editorial]? JAMA. 2005;293(17):2151-2154

Parenthetical Citations

Parenthetical citations should ONLY be used for sources that do not occur in the references list, such as unpublished material, personal communications, and news articles. These citations may or may not include a title or author, but should include page numbers and, if possible, a DOI or URL. In the case of personal communications  in-text citations should be in parentheses and include the name, affiliation, and highest academic degree(s) of the person who sent the message and the date the message was sent.  It also must clearly indicate whether the communication was oral or written and include online email. 

Example: Similar findings have been noted by M. J. Lee, MD (email communication, March 2020).

The AMA style guide does not give specific instructions for the layout of the reference list, but proper citation format of various types of sources are listed in sections: 3.2 3.3, 3.13.8, 3.13.9 

Basic Guidelines

• Reference lists are in numerical order, based on the order in which the sources were first cited in text

• Use regular numbers--not superscript in the reference list

• List each reference only once regardless of how many times it is cited in the text of the document

• All references should be listed at the end of the document except material not yet accepted for publication and personal communications. (They are added parenthetically in the text of the document only)
• Authors’ names are inverted and use only initials for first and middle names. No periods between initials but use commas to separate more than one author.  Example: Abbott M, Wheeler T

• Each reference is divided with periods into bibliographic groups; each bibliographic group contains bibliographic elements, which may be separated using the following punctuation marks:

  • A comma: if the items are sub-elements of a bibliographic element or a set of closely related elements (e.g., the authors’ names).
  • A semicolon: if the elements in the bibliographic group are different (e.g., between the publisher’s name and the copyright year) or if there are multiple occurrences of logically related elements within a group; also, before volume identification data.
  • A colon: before the publisher’s name, between the title and the subtitle, and after a connective phrase (e.g., “In,” “Presented at”).
• Include a digital object identifier (DOI) when available. If there is no DOI use URL  instead. Do not add a period after the DOI or URL in your reference list.  Example: doi:10.1001/jama.2017.13737

Books  (See section 3.12 for more detailed examples) 

Minimum accepted data for book references

DOI are digital object identifiers many online books have assigned  DOI's which  provide a persistent link to the item. Use the https://search.crossref.org/  to locate it in case if you cannot find it in the actual book or database. 

Example: Print  Book

1. Riegelman RK, Kirkwood B. Public Health 101: Healthy People--Healthy Populations. 2^nd ed. Jones & Bartlett Learning; 2015.

Example: Online  Book

2. Fine AH. Handbook on Animal-Assisted Therapy: Theoretical Foundations and Guidelines for Practice. 3rd ed. Elsevier Science & Technology, 2010. Accessed July 20, 2020. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/hpu-ebooks/detail.action?docID=629941 

Journal Articles  (See section 3.11 for more detailed examples) 

Minimum accepted data for journal articles

Journal titles in citations are abbreviated according to the National Library of Medicine (NLM) and Medical Subject Headings (MeSH).  The best way to find these abbreviations is through the NLM Catalog. 

DOI are digital object identifiers many online journal articles have assigned  DOI's which  provide a persistent link to the item. Use the https://search.crossref.org/  to locate it in case if you cannot find it in the actual article or database. (Note: older articles may not have a DOI)

Example: Print or Interlibrary Loan Journal Article

3. Moldofsky H. Sleep, neuroimmune and neuroendocrine functions in fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. Adv Neuroimmunol. 1995;5(1):39-56.

Example: Online Journal Article with DOI

4. Fischer MA, Stedman MS, Lii J, et al. Primary medication non-adherence: analysis of 195,930 electronic prescriptions. J Gen Intern Med. 2010;25(4):284–290. doi:10.1007/s11606-010-1253-9

Websites  (See section 3.15.3 for more detailed examples) 

Minimum accepted data for websites

Example: Website

 5. Information for physical therapy consumers. The American Physical Therapy Association. Published November 2007. Accessed September 17, 2008. http://www.apta.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Consumers/consumer1.html