AMA Citation Guide: Formatting Your Paper

Instructions on format for AMA are not explicitly stated in the AMA Manual of Style. These instructions come from Dr. Abel Scribe's AMA MedStyle Stat!. Please use these guidelines as a rough estimate only of the requirements, and seek your professor's expertise for more concrete support.

Margins
One inch margins are required around the text. Leave the right margin unjustified.

Line Spacing
All sections of the paper are single-spaced. Double-space between paragraphs and sections. 

Fonts
JAMA specifies a 12-point or 10-point font. There is no requirement for the typeface. A serif font is commonly used in publication (e.g. Times New Roman). A sans serif font (e.g. Arial) often looks good in draft manuscripts and should be used in diagrams and charts. 

Indents
Half-inch indents are standard.

Page Numbers
Every page of a research paper is numbered consecutively in the upper right corner, starting with the title page. Do not change numbering systems through the text, even with lengthy data sets or appendixes.

Headers
A short title header goes at the top of the page, aligned with the page number or left margin. This takes the place of the "running head" required of copy manuscripts.

Reference List 
Number the references in the order that they were cited in the text. Single space within the citation and double-space between citations. There are no hanging indents. 

For more information, see the Formatting guide from the University of Washington Health Sciences Library. 

Because AMA does not provide complete and specific instructions for formatting, always consult your professor or assignment guidelines for any specific instructions regarding paper formatting.