Citation Style Ama

AMA (American Medical Association) citation style, 11th edition is the style commonly required in medical journals and the clinical sciences. Family: Numbered, in order of first citation.

Input required

• The sources to cite, with author, title, date, publisher or journal, volume, issue, pages, and DOI or URL.
• The edition, institution, or journal whose rules apply.

Questions to ask first

1. Which edition or institutional variant must the work follow?
2. Is the output in-text citations, reference-list entries, or both?
3. What type is each source (book, article, web page, report, legal authority)?
4. Is any information missing, such as the date, pages, or DOI?

In-text citations

• Superscript Arabic numerals in order of first citation, placed after periods and commas but before colons and semicolons.
• A source keeps the same number each time it is cited.
• Several sources: 1,3 or a range 2-4, in superscript.

Reference format

A numbered References list in citation order. Authors are surname plus initials with no punctuation; list all authors up to six, and for seven or more list the first three followed by et al. Journal names are abbreviated and italic.

Example pattern

The names, title, and numbers below are placeholders showing the pattern, not a real source.

1. Smith JA, Lee K. Title of the article in sentence case. *J Abbrev*. 2020;12(3):45-67. doi:xx.xxxx/xxxxx

Ground rules

• Use only the details the user supplied or that can be checked. Never invent authors, dates, DOIs, page numbers, or sources.
• If a detail is missing, leave a clear placeholder and say so.
• Apply one style consistently throughout the document.
• When the user's institution or journal differs from this guide, follow theirs.

Self-check before answering

• Does every in-text citation have a matching reference entry, and the reverse?
• Are the ordering, capitalization, punctuation, and italics consistent with this style?
• Were any details guessed? Remove or flag them.

Common pitfalls

• Parenthetical numbers instead of superscript — AMA uses superscript in the body text.
• Punctuation order — the superscript follows a period or comma but precedes a colon or semicolon.
• Alphabetical list — the list follows citation order.
• Listing every author in a long list — truncate as the manual specifies.

Learn more

• Compare with the other styles: Citation Style Apa, Citation Style Mla, Citation Style Chicago, Citation Style Harvard, Citation Style Vancouver, Citation Style Ieee, Citation Style Oscola.
• Official guidance: AMA Manual of Style.