AMA Citation Format in Google Docs: Complete 2026 Guide

AMA format is the citation style of choice for medicine, nursing, dentistry, and the allied health sciences — and it breaks students in ways the more familiar APA and MLA styles do not. The core difference is that AMA uses numbered superscripts instead of author's names, and those reference numbers must appear in the exact order you first cite each source throughout the paper. Add a citation out of sequence, renumber the wrong entry, or forget that AMA references are never alphabetized, and the whole list falls apart.

This guide walks through every AMA requirement you need to set up in Google Docs — from page setup and the title page to superscript numbers in the text and a clean, correctly sequenced reference list at the end. Each section explains the rule and how to hit it inside Google Docs without installing extra software or fighting the editor.

1. Document Setup: Font, Margins, and Spacing

Start with a blank Google Doc rather than a copied template. Templates carry hidden formatting that conflicts with AMA requirements and is tedious to unpick later.

Font and size

1. Press Ctrl+A (Windows) or Cmd+A (Mac) to select all.
2. Set the font to Times New Roman or Arial (both are accepted under AMA 11th edition).
3. Set the size to 12 pt.

Times New Roman is the most commonly expected font in academic health science programs. If your syllabus is silent on the choice, use Times New Roman.

Margins

1. Go to File > Page setup.
2. Set all four margins — top, bottom, left, right — to 1 inch.
3. Click OK.

Line spacing

1. Go to Format > Line & paragraph spacing > Double.
2. From the same menu, choose Remove space after paragraph.

Google Docs adds extra spacing after each paragraph by default. That extra gap makes the paper look inconsistent and is not part of AMA's double-spacing requirement. Remove it at the start and you won't need to hunt it down later.

2. The Title Page

AMA requires a separate title page. Unlike MLA, which puts your identifying information inside the body of the paper, AMA front matter lives on its own page before the abstract and text begin.

What to include on the title page

• Full title of the paper, centered, in title case — no bold or italics unless the title itself contains a species name or journal title.
• Author name(s), centered below the title.
• Institutional affiliation (your university, school, or department), centered below the author line.
• Course name and number, instructor name, and due date, also centered.
• Running head (see below) in the header.

Set up the running head

AMA papers use a running head — a short version of the title — in the top-right header of every page, paired with the page number.

1. Go to Insert > Headers & footers > Header.
2. Right-align the cursor (Ctrl+Shift+R / Cmd+Shift+R).
3. Type a shortened version of your title in all caps (maximum 50 characters including spaces), followed by a space and then the page number via Insert > Page numbers.

Example running head for a paper titled "The Effect of Sleep Deprivation on Cognitive Performance in Nursing Students":

Do not type the page number manually. Use the automatic page number field so numbers update correctly if you add or remove content.

End the title page with a page break

Press Ctrl+Enter (Windows) or Cmd+Enter (Mac) to insert a hard page break after the title page content. Never hit Enter repeatedly until text spills onto the next page — that approach breaks the moment anyone edits the document.

3. In-Text Citations: Superscript Numbers

AMA's most distinctive feature is its citation system. Instead of the author's last name and a year — as in APA — you insert a superscript Arabic numeral immediately after the relevant text. The first source you cite gets the number 1, the second source gets 2, and so on throughout the entire paper.

How to insert superscript numbers in Google Docs

1. Place your cursor immediately after the relevant word or sentence, before the period if the citation ends the sentence.
2. Go to Format > Text > Superscript (or press Ctrl+. on Windows / Cmd+. on Mac).
3. Type the reference number.
4. Press Ctrl+. (or Cmd+.) again to turn off superscript and return to normal text.

Placement of the superscript follows these rules:

• After punctuation (periods, commas) — not before: "...sleep quality improved.¹"
• After a closing quotation mark: "...as the authors noted."²
• When citing multiple sources at the same point, list them in numerical order separated by commas — no spaces: ¹,³,⁴
• When citing a range of sources, use a hyphen: ²⁻⁵

The sequencing rule that trips everyone up

In AMA, a source keeps the number it was first assigned. If you cite source number 4 again in the discussion section, it is still number 4 — not a new number. This means your reference list is numbered and ordered by first appearance, not alphabetically. A source cited on page 1 is reference 1; a new source introduced on page 3 becomes reference 5 (if references 2, 3, and 4 were cited before it).

The easiest way to manage this in Google Docs is to build your reference list as you write. Every time you add a new superscript, immediately add the corresponding entry to the bottom of your reference list. Trying to reconstruct the sequence after the paper is drafted is where errors multiply.

4. The Reference List

The AMA reference list appears at the end of the paper. It is titled References (centered, plain text, no bold or italics), and entries are numbered to match their superscripts in the text. The list is never alphabetized.

Start the reference list on a new page

After your conclusion, insert a hard page break (Ctrl+Enter / Cmd+Enter). Center-align, type References in plain 12 pt font, then return to left alignment before adding entries.

Reference entry formats

Each entry type follows a different template. The most common are:

Journal article (print or online)

Book

Website or online resource

Key formatting rules that differ from other styles:

• Author names: Last name first, then initials with no periods or spaces between initials. List up to 6 authors; if there are more than 6, list the first 3 then add "et al."
• Journal names: Use the official abbreviation from the National Library of Medicine catalog — not the full name. No periods in the abbreviation (N Engl J Med, not N.E.J.M.).
• Volume, issue, page: Write as Year;Volume(Issue):Pages. Example: 2015;36(6):294-299.
• DOIs: Include the DOI when available. Format as "doi:10.xxxx/xxxx" at the end of the entry — no period after the DOI.
• Website access dates: Required for online sources. Use "Accessed Month DD, YYYY."

Formatting the entries in Google Docs

AMA reference entries begin flush left with the reference number followed by a period and a space. Continuation lines are indented 0.5", creating a hanging-indent effect.

1. Type or paste all reference entries, one per paragraph, double-spaced.
2. Highlight all entries.
3. Go to Format > Align & indent > Indentation options.
4. Under Special indent, choose Hanging and set the value to 0.5".
5. Click Apply.

Each entry should now show its number and first line flush left, with all additional lines indented. If entries look wrong — all lines indented, or nothing indented — highlight them again and reapply.

5. Headings, Tables, and Figures

Section headings

AMA 11th edition allows three levels of headings. In Google Docs, apply them consistently:

Tables

Place each table on a separate page at the end of the paper (before figures), or embedded in the text immediately after first mention — check what your instructor prefers. Each table needs:

• A table number in bold: Table 1.
• A brief title in italic title case on the line below the number.
• Column headers that clearly label the data.
• A footnote section below the table for abbreviations and explanatory notes.
• The superscript citation number in the text where you mention the table.

Figures

Figures (graphs, images, diagrams) are numbered separately from tables. The figure title and legend appear below the figure, unlike tables where the title appears above. Format: Figure 1. followed by the legend in plain text.

6. AMA vs APA: The Key Differences

Health science programs often use both AMA and APA depending on the course. The table below shows the points where students most often mix the two up:

7. Final Submission Checklist

Run through this list before you export or submit. These are the points most likely to cost points on an AMA-formatted paper:

• 12 pt Times New Roman (or Arial), 1-inch margins, double-spaced throughout
• No extra space after paragraphs
• Running head in top-right header (all caps, <50 characters + auto page number)
• Separate title page with title, author, affiliation, course info — ended with a hard page break
• Every in-text citation is a superscript Arabic numeral, placed after punctuation
• Superscript numbers assigned in order of first appearance — never reshuffled
• Reference list starts on a new page (hard page break), titled "References" in centered plain text
• Reference entries numbered sequentially and ordered by first citation in text
• Journal names abbreviated using NLM catalog abbreviations, no periods in abbreviations
• Author initials with no periods or spaces between them
• Authors listed up to 6; 7 or more uses first 3 + "et al."
• DOIs included for journal articles; access dates for websites
• Hanging indent applied to reference entries
• All tables and figures numbered separately and cited by superscript in text

Export for submission

Unless your instructor specifies otherwise, submit as a PDF: File > Download > PDF Document (.pdf). Open the downloaded file and check that the superscript numbers rendered correctly, that the running head appears on every page, and that the reference list starts on a fresh page with hanging indents intact. Superscripts in particular can shift to regular-sized text in some export scenarios — verify before you submit.

One More Thing: Make the Writing Sound Like You

Health science programs run papers through AI detection tools just as often as humanities programs do. If you used AI to help draft your literature review or methods section, clean AMA formatting won't shield you from a flag — the writing style itself is what gets detected.

AuraWrite AI rewrites AI-drafted text so it reads with the natural variation and voice of a human writer — preserving your citations, your argument structure, and your word count — while bringing the AI detection score back into the human range. Run the draft through the humanizer first, then apply the AMA formatting steps in this guide. The citation setup is identical; the difference is the prose underneath it.

Conclusion

AMA format in Google Docs is manageable once you understand its logic. Set up the document foundation first — font, margins, double-spacing, no extra paragraph gaps. Build the title page and running head before you write a word of the body. Add each superscript citation as you draft so the numbering sequence stays accurate. And build the reference list entry-by-entry as you go, never at the end.

The most common AMA mistakes — alphabetizing references, mixing up author initial formatting, forgetting to abbreviate journal names — all come from applying habits learned in other citation styles. Treat AMA as its own system and check against the comparison table in section 6 whenever something feels familiar but not quite right.

Get the structure right and the formatting will hold. The only thing between your draft and the grade after that is the quality of the writing itself.

Last updated: June 25, 2026