AMA (10/e) Style Guide

The 10th edition of the American Medical Association Manual of Style online contains everything medical and scientific researchers, writers, and editors need to produce well-organized, clear, readable, and authoritative manuscripts. 

The Library has access to the full online manual.  With this interactive edition, users can annotate their online manuals, bookmark, prepare style sheets, and save searches. The next edition (11th) is planned for February 2020. At that time, we will update the AMA LibGuide accordingly.

In order to have full access to this helpful resource, the system may prompt you to log in (especially if you are off site). Click on  “With your TouroOne credentials” option or the "NYMC Library Account" option depending on your affiliation (see image below). 

You need to cite when:

• Using a direct quotation, even if it is in quotation marks.
• Using facts that are not common knowledge (what the reader can reasonably be expected to know).
• Paraphrasing or rewriting the author’s ideas in your own words.
• Summarizing the data or argument of an author in your own words.
• Using the key words or phrases of the author or using synonyms.
• Mentioning the author’s name in your text.
• Writing a sentence that mostly consists of your own thoughts, but makes a reference to another author’s ideas.

 When in doubt, cite. If there is a question in your mind about whether you need to cite a reference, you should. 

Please note: Some browsers may show italicized text as underlined. When preparing bibliographies based on any of the formats addressed by this series, italics are specified, and should be used. 

Certain items might not need to be cited:

• Writing your own lived experiences, your own observations and insights, your own thoughts, and your own conclusions about a subject.
• When you are writing up your own results obtained through lab or field experiments.
• When you use your own artwork, digital photographs, video, audio, etc.
• When you are using "common knowledge," things like folklore, common sense observations, myths, urban legends, and historical events (but not historical documents).
• When you are using generally-accepted facts (e.g., pollution is bad for the environment) including facts that are accepted within particular discourse communities (e.g., in the field of composition studies, "writing is a process" is a generally-accepted fact).