AMA Style Guide

This information is intended to get you started with properly crediting the work of others in your writing using the AMA format. For complete information on in-text citations see the AMA Manual of Style: A Guide for Authors and Editors, 11th Edition.

• Number all references in the order in which they appear in your paper, whether in the text, tables, or figures.
• Use superscript numerals to cite facts, concepts, or direct quotations. 
  • Insert the superscript numeral immediately next to content being cited. Ex. This drug is used to treat hepatitis. ¹
  • If citing more than one reference for the same content, separate numbers with commas with no spaces between them.
  • Place superscript numbers outside periods and commas but inside colons and semi-colons in the text. Ex. Storing latex at high heat may cause degradation,^2,3 but it is difficult to keep materials cool in a desert environment. Some physicians choose to store prescription pads in locked cabinets ⁴; others keep them in their coats at all times. ⁵
  • If more than 2 references are cited for the same concept, use hyphens to join the first and last numbers of a closed series; use commas without spaces to separate other parts of a multiple citation. Ex. The link between obesity and poorer health outcomes has been widely discussed.^1,4-7,15,20
• If using the same reference more than once in the same paper, use the number for the first time it is used throughout the entire paper.
• At the end of the document, include a reference list with full citations to each item. Order citations as they appear in your paper.

Finding treatments for breast cancer is a major goal for scientists.^1,2 Some classes of drugs show more promise than others. Gradishar evaluated taxanes as a class.³ Other scientists have investigated individual drugs within this class, including Andre and Zielinski ² and Joensuu and Gligorov. ⁴ Mita et al's investigation of cabazitaxel ⁵ seems to indicate a new role for this class of drugs.

Reference list:

1. Cancer Research Funding. National Cancer Institute. Publication date unavailable. Updated June 6, 2011. Accessed November 3, 2012. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/NCI/research-funding

2. Andre F, Zielinski CC. Optimal strategies for the treatment of metastatic triple-negative breast cancer with currently approved agents. Ann Oncol. 2012;23(Suppl 2):vi46-vi51.

3. Gradishar WJ. Taxanes for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer. Breast Cancer (Auckl.). 2012;6:159-171.

4. Joensuu H, Gligorov J. Adjuvant treatments for triple-negative breast cancers. Ann Oncol. 2012;Suppl 6:vi40-45.

5. Mita AC, Figlin R, Mita MM. Cabazitaxel: more than a new taxane for metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer? Clin Cancer Res. 2012;18(24):OF1-OF6.

Examples for this page have been adapted from University of Southern California Libraries' Research Guide on AMA Style (11th Ed) and used with permission.