th
(10
Using the AMA Manual
edition)
in the College Setting
The
AMA
Style
Manual
10th edition
AMA Format Educational PowerPoint
Part 1: Appearance, In-Text Citations
© 2008 Nebraska Methodist College – The Josie Harper Campus
AMA Manual
Not Directed to College Students





Editors of JAMA, mid 1960s
First manual: 70-page booklet
10th edition: over 1,000 pages
Guidelines for formatting appearance,
documenting sources easily applied in College
setting
See “Help with AMA” page on NMC’s WAC
Website, linked to logon page of ANGEL
Two Sides of the Student Paper
1
1. Overall appearance



A Study of Flu in Males, Age 55-80
Jill Jones, ARDMS
jilljones98765432@yahoo.com
Nebraska Methodist College- The Josie Harper Campus
774 words



Double spacing
AMA-style title page (p37)
Rules call for not just title but
author’s name, degrees, email
address; name of institution;
word count
Page numbers make sense
Figures, numeric data, margins
Ask instructor
The AMA Manual on Numbers


Use numerals for almost all numbers: “My 3
cats, which are 3, 4, and 7 years old, have
caught 23 mice in the past 3 months.”
Exceptions: Ordinals first thru ninth; numbers
used as pronouns; numbers, like “one,” used in
idiomatic expressions; fractions; numbers that
begin a sentence, title, subtitle, or heading;
numbers spelled out in quotations
The AMA Manual on Abbreviations



Use scientific nomenclature
Specific lists for organizations, months, states
in US, units of measure, clinical/medical
terms, titles of medical journals (called Index
Medicus)
Tendency to drop punctuation: Rev
Corp
Dr
J Lab Clin Med
FDA
MD
Inc
6 lb 4 oz
Key Differences: AMA v. APA, MLA








In-text numbering system, not parenthetical author, year,
and page/paragraph number (APA)
Reference list numbered, not alphabetized
No periods after initials, no ampersand in author section of
each Reference list item
Date appears after title, not immediately after author (APA)
Very few uses of parentheses in Reference list
Journal titles abbreviated, not spelled out
No spaces between year, volume, number, page numbers
No intro to URL of Internet sources; PERIOD after URL; final
“Accessed” + DATE v. “Retrieved” (APA)
Citing References
in the Body of a Paper (pp42-45)






a superscript system in the body of the text.25 ←
Click on “Format,” then “Font”; check “superscript”
Place after period, comma; before colon, semicolon
More than one superscript permitted2,25,28 ←
Page numbers okay in superscript28(pp7-8)← (no spaces)
Maximum of 23 characters in superscript
(If more, use footnote* in italic letters)
_______________________________
*References 3, 4, 7, 9, 11, 13, 21, 24-29, 31.
th
(10
Using the AMA Manual
edition)
in the College Setting
The
AMA
Style
Manual
10th edition
AMA Format Educational PowerPoint
Part 2: The References List
© 2008 Nebraska Methodist College – The Josie Harper Campus
Goals for Citing References

Complete




Accurate




Exact quotations, and accurate summaries, spelling, date, pages
Information in Reference entries accurate
Readability


All sources should be cited
All superscripts should match one reference on the References list
All reference entries should include required components
Smoothly readable, clear
Number of superscripts same as number of references
Exceptions

“written communication,” “oral communication,” or “e-mail communication”
The Reference List: General Rules

Begin with the title, flush with left margin: References

Includes all sources cited in the body of a paper (but no
added ones!)

Numbers (plus period) follow the order in which each
source first appears and is cited in the body of your text

No special indentation rules: all lines are double-spaced,
flush with L margin
Essential Information and Order:
Components in Reference Entries
Author(s) (if known)
 Title(s)
 Publication Information & Date
 See “Minimum Acceptable Data for
References,” p42

Author Format


Last name(s) + first and middle initials if given, but NO
PUNCTUATION except period at the end. (Also, no “credentials”
like MS, MD) e.g. Jones PT, Smith Q.
Complications:
No author? Start with TITLE (see p50)
More than six authors: add ,et al. after third author (pp44-45)
Institution or Association? Spell it out. (p51)
Use , ed. or , eds. after name(s) of editor(s)
Title Format




Rules for capital letters, italic letters, quotation marks
Capitalize initial letter of only the first word in a title, words in
proper nouns, and acronyms/abbreviations e.g. CDC
Exception for periodicals, book-length works: Capitalize first
letter of all content words (nouns, verbs, even prepositions of
4 or more letters--see discussion, p46; examples, pp53-56)
Italics only for titles of book-length works, titles of journals,
proceedings, symposia, plays, paintings, long poems, musical
compositions, space vehicles, planes, and ships (see pp925926). AMA also italicizes titles of newspapers, of government
bulletins, and of theses/dissertations in their examples.
Titles of Articles in Book Collections (pp53-54)








Articles within edited books: Entry requires two titles
“Main title” begins with a new
“sentence” starting:
In:
Next: Editor’s name(s), last name(s) before initials,
plus comma and ed. or eds.
Next: Title of book (italicized) plus period.
Page numbers of article come after publication
information
Ex.: In: Solomon BH, ed. Other Voices, Other Vistas.
Titles of Articles within Journals (pp47-52)






Articles in journals: Entry also requires two titles
Italicized (& abbreviated) Journal Title begins right after period after
article title; End with a period.
Next: Publication Info: Year + semicolon ( ; ) + Volume number
[+ parenthetical “Number” number but only if each volume
begins with p.1]
Next: colon (:) + Page numbers (no “p”)
e.g.: Williams, GR. Walking saves lives. JMCC. 2007;37(2):22-27.
Publication Info: Books (pp52-56)




City, State, Publisher’s Name, Year
If source is an article within a book: after City,
State, Publisher, and Year, include page
numbers of article or chapter (see pp53-54)
e.g.
4. Brown, RG. Multicultural issues in
sonography. In: Solomon BH, ed. Other
Voices, Other Vistas. New York, NY: Norton;
2005:154-166.
Multiple cities? List first city listed only
Publication Info: Internet (pp 63-69)
Internet sources: list the complete URL
 Online journal article? Place month, day and year of publication,
if known, immediately after title (and title of the online journal)
 e.g.
9. Wilson RR. Respiratory care: team approach. HHCJ. 2007;9: 89104. http://nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/
ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/
Volume122007/No1Jan07/tpc32_316092.aspx. Published

January 5, 2007. Accessed June 3, 2007.

References for Internet sources end with an Accessed [+DATE].
sentence at the end (+ period!)
e.g. Accessed June 3, 2007.
Editing Checklist




Each entry complete?
Author/ Date/ Title(s)/ Pub. Info
Each element in order?
Each entry using right form?
Patterns of Capitalizing/ Italicizing/
Abbreviating/Indenting
List matches in-text citations?
How to Master AMA Style





Read journals that use AMA Style, and be conscious of
writers’ choices
Practice using AMA Style for many different kinds of
sources, papers
Ask your instructor questions
View examples on websites linked to NMC’s WAC website
at NMC-JHC
Follow “NMC Crib Sheet” for AMA example