AMA CITATION GENERATOR

AMA Citation Generator

Paste a DOI, URL, or ISBN. Get back a clean reference in AMA style — the format used by JAMA and most clinical journals. Numbered references, abbreviated journal names, superscript in-text citation. Free, no signup.

Citation Style
Source Type

Tip: Paste a URL, DOI, or ISBN for automatic metadata lookup.

About AMA Manual of Style

AMA style is defined by the AMA Manual of Style, currently in its 11th edition (2020), published by the American Medical Association and the Oxford University Press. It's the working standard for JAMA and its specialty journals, and the default for clinical, biomedical, and translational research writing across the US. Most medical schools, residency programs, and clinical-research labs default to AMA for case reports, manuscripts, and grant applications.

Example AMA reference

1. Tversky A, Kahneman D. Judgment under uncertainty: heuristics and biases. Science. 1974;185(4157):1124-1131. doi:10.1126/science.185.4157.1124

In-text citation in AMA

AMA uses numbered superscript in-text citations. The first source cited gets 1, the second 2, and so on, with the same number reused every time that source is cited again. Numbers go after punctuation: ...antibiotic stewardship reduces resistance.1 Ranges and lists are compact: 1-3 or 1,4,7.

Antibiotic stewardship reduces resistance.1

Reference-list format

References are numbered in the order they first appear, not alphabetized. Author names are surname plus initials, no periods between initials, comma-separated. Article titles use sentence case. Journal names use the official NLM-style abbreviation (N Engl J Med, not New England Journal of Medicine) and stay italicized. Year, volume, issue, page range follow in compact punctuation: 2020;383(2):109-118.

Common AMA mistakes to avoid

How the generator works

Each input goes through the right source. DOIs hit Crossref directly, since that's where they're registered. ISBNs resolve through library and publisher records. URLs get scraped for embedded metadata (DOI in the source, OG tags, schema.org). If nothing's there, we fall back to Semantic Scholar and OpenAlex. Once the canonical record lands, the CSL engine renders the citation in AMA. That's the same engine Zotero and Mendeley run, the same one behind most journal submission portals.

Frequently Asked Questions about AMA

Why use AMA over APA in medical writing?

AMA is the working standard for clinical journals, medical schools, residencies, and grant submissions. JAMA and most specialty journals require it. APA is rare in clinical writing — you'll see it in psychology and nursing journals, but biomedical and translational work defaults to AMA.

How do I cite a source multiple times?

Reuse the same superscript number. If a paper is cited as 1 on page 2 and again on page 8, both citations get 1. Don't renumber on subsequent appearances.

What journal abbreviations does AMA use?

The official NLM/MEDLINE abbreviations: N Engl J Med, JAMA, Lancet, BMJ, Ann Intern Med. The generator pulls the abbreviated form automatically — you don't need to look it up. PubMed's full-record view also lists the abbreviation for any journal.

How do I format DOIs in AMA?

doi:10.xxxx with no space after the colon. Not https://doi.org/10.xxxx the way APA 7 prefers, and not doi: 10.xxxx with a space.

Are author names listed differently in AMA?

Surname + initials, no periods between initials, comma-separated: Tversky A, Kahneman D. List the first six authors; for seven or more, list the first three followed by "et al."

What if my journal asks for AMA with modifications?

Many journals publish their own house-style overlays on top of AMA — slightly different DOI formatting, or specific rules for supplementary materials. Submit in standard AMA and the journal's copyeditor will adjust to house style. Or pick the journal's specific CSL style from the More menu if it's in the registry.

Related Citation Tools

Need a different style?

The full Citation Generator covers APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, AMA, ACS, IEEE, Vancouver, and the 10,000+ other styles in the CSL registry.

Convert an existing bibliography

Already wrote your references in another style? Drop the list into the Citation Converter to reformat the whole bibliography in one click.

Verify a citation

Got a reference and want to check it? Run it through the AI Citation Checker to confirm the source exists and the metadata matches.

Find a source for a claim

Have a sentence but no citation? The Find Source tool searches Crossref, Semantic Scholar, arXiv, OpenAlex, and PubMed for supporting peer-reviewed papers.

Build a Works Cited list

Save every AMA citation you generate to your Works Cited library, then export the finished list to Word, BibTeX, or RIS.

Polish your writing

Run the final draft through the Writing Assistant to check grammar, clarity, and academic tone before submitting.