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AMA style has no “Works Cited” page and no bibliography. The AMA Manual of Style (11th edition, 2020) uses a numbered reference list: sources are numbered in the order they first appear in the text, cited with superscript numbers, and listed in that same numerical order, not alphabetically. If your instructions say “AMA works cited”, “AMA bibliography” or “AMA citation page”, the page you build is the reference list described below. This guide is for authors and graduate students preparing manuscripts and theses in medicine and the health sciences.
AMA style has a reference list, not a Works Cited page
The variants people search for all point to the same thing in AMA style:
- Works cited / works cited AMA: the term belongs to MLA. In AMA, the equivalent is the reference list. For the MLA version, see how to cite a chapter in MLA 9.
- Bibliography AMA format / AMA bibliography example: library guides for AMA state that the style uses a reference list instead of a bibliography (Rosalind Franklin University guide, read 2026-11-07). A bibliography in other styles can include works read but not cited; an AMA reference list holds only works cited in the text.
- AMA citation page / AMA reference page: the reference list, normally placed after the text of the manuscript. JAMA’s instructions for authors order a manuscript as title page, abstract, text, references, legends, tables.
The practical difference from alphabetical styles is the order. Because the list follows first appearance, you cannot finish it by sorting at the end: the numbering has to match the text.
The format: a template with each element named
These patterns follow the 11th edition as shown in the library guides and journal instructions listed under Sources. Italics are shown for journal and book titles.
Journal article
Author(s). Article title. Journal abbreviation. Year;Volume(Issue):first page-last page. doi:xxxx
- Authors: list up to 6; with more than 6, list the first 3 followed by “et al” (the rule as applied by JAMA and the university guides).
- Journal name: abbreviated according to the PubMed journals list and italicised.
- Issue: in parentheses directly after the volume.
- DOI: include it when one exists. The UNF guide says a DOI is preferred over the URL.
Book
Author(s). Title. Edition. Publisher; year. The publisher location is no longer included in the 11th edition (Augusta University guide; OUP’s AMA Manual of Style site).
Chapter in an edited book
Chapter author(s). Chapter title. In: Editor(s), ed. Book title. Publisher; year:pages.
Website page
Author or organisation. Title of item. Site name. Published date. Updated date. Accessed date. URL If a page names no individual author, the organisation is given as the author (Augusta University guide). JAMA likewise requires the URL and an “Accessed Month day, year” statement on web references.
Examples
The first example is a real article, shown only to illustrate the pattern. The others use invented authors, titles and publishers, written as examples of the pattern; they are not real sources.
| Type | Reference list entry |
|---|---|
| Journal article, with DOI (real article, pattern only) | Obama B. United States health care reform: progress to date and next steps. JAMA. 2016;316(5):525-532. doi:10.1001/jama.2016.9797 |
| Journal article, invented example | Smith J, Doe A. Sample article title. JAMA. 2026;335(3):100-110. doi:10.0000/example.0000 |
| Book, invented example | Lee K, Roe P. Example Book Title. 2nd ed. Example Press; 2024. |
| Book chapter, invented example | Doe A. Example chapter title. In: Roe P, ed. Example Handbook. Example Press; 2023:45-60. |
| Website, invented example | Example Health Association. Example page title. Example Site. Published March 1, 2025. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://example.org/page |
In-text citation version
AMA in-text citations are superscript Arabic numerals placed after the fact they support, not author names and years.
- Numbering: number references in order of first appearance, in the text, tables and legends (JAMA instructions).
- Reusing a source: a source cited again keeps its original number; it does not get a new entry (Rosalind Franklin University guide).
- Several sources at once: separate numbers with commas and no spaces, and join consecutive numbers with a hyphen. Example pattern: 3-10, or 2,9-11,16 (Augusta University guide).
Personal communications are not placed in the reference list; they are given parenthetically in the text, and JAMA requires a signed permission statement from each source.
Common errors
- Alphabetising the list. AMA orders by first appearance. Alphabetical order is the pattern of MLA, APA and Chicago bibliography styles; compare the APA Publication Manual and Turabian-style works cited.
- Calling the page “Works Cited” or “Bibliography”. Title it References.
- Listing more than six authors in full. After six, list the first three and add et al.
- Including publisher location. The 11th edition dropped it for books.
- Giving a URL when a DOI exists. Journal references should carry the DOI.
- Omitting the access date on web pages.
- Giving a reused source a second number. Reuse the original number.
- Leaving reference formatting to an AI tool. JAMA’s instructions state that AI must not generate or format references.
Style-guide edition
This page describes the AMA Manual of Style, 11th edition (2020), the current edition on the style’s official site at academic.oup.com/amamanualofstyle, checked on 2026-11-07. The site’s updates page records later additions, including a Short-Form References section (3.18) added on 2026-05-25. The 11th edition also made DOIs expected where available and removed publisher location from book references. Check your target journal’s instructions as well, because journals apply the manual with their own exceptions. Other reference systems are compared in Nature reference style and IEEE reference format, which are also numbered.
FAQ
Is there an AMA works cited page?
No. AMA style uses a numbered reference list. “Works cited” is MLA terminology.
What is the AMA bibliography format?
AMA does not use a bibliography. Build a reference list numbered by first appearance, using the patterns above.
How do I cite in-text in AMA?
Use superscript numbers after the cited statement, comma-separated without spaces, with hyphens for consecutive numbers (for example 2,9-11,16).
Is the AMA reference list alphabetical?
No. It follows the order in which sources first appear in the text.
How many authors do I list?
Up to six. If there are more than six, list the first three and add et al.
Where does an AMA reference page go?
After the text and before legends and tables, in the manuscript order JAMA specifies.
Sources
- AMA Manual of Style, 11th edition, Oxford University Press: academic.oup.com/amamanualofstyle, including its guide to citing and updates pages (read 2026-10-28 and 2026-11-07).
- JAMA Instructions for Authors: jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/pages/instructions-for-authors (read 2026-10-28).
- University of North Florida Library, AMA 11th Edition guide: libguides.unf.edu/AMA11thEdition (updated 2026-09-02, read 2026-11-07).
- Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, AMA Style Guide: guides.rosalindfranklin.edu/amastyleguide (updated 2026-11-05, read 2026-11-07).
- Augusta University, AMA citations guide: guides.augusta.edu/CAHS/AMAcitations (updated 2026-10-28, read 2026-11-07).
