AMA Citation Format – General Writing Guide + Examples

AMA format is a tool to keep an academic paper organized. It helps to present the ideas of other writers and make the structure clear for the reading audience. Would you like to learn more about AMA format paper? The article below introduces the major rules of this referencing style, learning tips, and some examples.

Mastering AMA formatting is not easy. If you need an excellent research paper or any other type of academic work, feel free to ask for help on the professional writing website.

Table Of Contents

What is AMA Format?

Have you heard of this writing style before? The American Medical Association published AMA citation guide in 2017, and it did not introduce many changes since that year. The goal was to make it simpler for those students studying health care, medicine, & nursing to structure their essays and research papers.

Every tutor insists that the paper be correctly referenced with appropriate sources. It is done to explain where another writer’s study has contributed to or supported a discovery/theory within the project. AMA style citation has numerous variations for various educational institutions and publications. To provide a complete answer to the question, we should analyze the parts of this writing style.

What Are AMA Style Citation and References?

The discussed writing style has 2 major elements:

1. AMA format in-text citation (direct & indirect)
2. Reference (the list of references shows up at the end of the essay after the conclusion).

The goal of the AMA format citation is to provide an evidence from credible sources to support the writer’s arguments. References list offers the details about the chosen sources. It allows the readers to find more information on the covered topic and go on researching the problem in-depth. The citations appear throughout the text while the references are included on a separate page of the essay. A writer should link both elements by a number. The number is predetermined by order of appearance within the essay (beginning with 1, 2, etc.)

The next stage in learning how to write in AMA format is understanding the purposes of using this writing style.

How to Write a Paper in AMA Format?

It is important to master AMA reference format for several reasons:

• Structure the paper in a logical manner
• Make it easier to follow the text
• Defend writer’s arguments and thesis statement
• Motivate readers to continue their own research
• Distinguish the names of the talented contributors
• Avoid issues with plagiarism

Finally, using AMA reference format is one of the medical research paper’s requirements. It is impossible to earn full credits without formatting your work. Without citing the sources, a student risks having problems with plagiarism, and they often result in an F.
Once you know the purpose, explore the ways to cite the paper in detail.

Short Version of AMA Citation Guide

We have mentioned that AMA citation guide has not changed dramatically since 1962. What are the basic principles? Each time a writer needs to add an AMA citation, they need to come up with a number in superscript where the source makes sense. In many situations, a quotation appears with a quote or at the end of the sentence where the material has contributed. It is important to make sure the numbers are in chronological order.
The number will make it possible to discover the complete reference on AMA Works Cited page. The complete references must begin with the corresponding number.

A lot depends on the type of source a student has to cite. Knowing how to cite a website does not mean a student automatically knows how to cite a book as these sources require different approaches.
A bibliography should have the writer’s last name and the first & middle initial without punctuation. Apply a comma to divide more than one writer. Example: Roland K, Momsen PJ.

Apply sentence case for the titles without any exceptions (capitalize the 1st word of the title – no need to do it with the rest of the words). Abbreviate and italicize titles of materials based on the National Library of Medicine database.

Separate every reference with periods into bibliographic categories; every category must have bibliographic elements divided with the help of punctuation marks.

1. A comma. In case the items are sub-elements of a bibliographic component or a set of interconnected components like writers’ names.

2. A semicolon. If the elements in the category vary from each other (the release date & title of the source) / if numerous occurrences of interconnected components are available within a group + before the volume identification information.

3. A colon. Put it prior to the writer’s name, between the heading and the subheading, and after a connective element/transition word (example: “At the end”)

How to Write in AMA Format Using Online Help?

We suggest that you look at the summary of the citation guide. It will help to master the art of citing & referencing faster.

• Number the quoted material following the sequence;
• Each citation number should match the reference number;
• Apply Arabic superscript numerals;
• Invert the names of the writers. Use initials for the 1st and middle names without putting periods between initials;
• Capitalize the first words and abbreviations in the headings;
• Add issue numbers in parentheses after the volume number (for journals).

Grab a Free AMA Format Example & Template

To make it clear, we would like to share a universal AMA format example with you. We hope our infographic will help!

The American Medical Association made the lives of students worldwide complicated by releasing the guide. The point is a student should read 1032 pages (!) to find out how to write in AMA format. Oxford University Press offered the 10th edition in 2007. It might be time-consuming to cover the entire guide. Save time on formatting and writing your academic papers thanks to the professional writers available 24/7 online. The team of experts for hire will cite your paper better than any citation generator online!