Do headings inside a manuscript follow the same AMA title-case rule?

Not always. Many journals that follow AMA style for references use sentence case for in-text section headings (Methods, Results, Discussion) as part of their own house style. AMA itself doesn't mandate one universal rule for every heading level — check your target journal's author guidelines, since house style commonly overrides the manual on this point.

How is AMA different from APA title case?

They use the same three-letter preposition cutoff and produce identical output on most titles. The practical difference is where each style applies title case: APA also uses sentence case in its reference lists for article titles, similar to AMA's convention, but the two manuals diverge on hyphenated-compound rules and Greek-letter handling common in scientific writing.

AMA Manual of Style
title-case rules

For medical and scientific publication.

The AMA rules

The AMA Manual of Style (11th ed.) is the standard for medical and scientific publication, used by JAMA and hundreds of biomedical journals. Its title-case rule applies specifically to journal names and full book titles.

Capitalize the first and last words.
Capitalize all major words.
Lowercase articles, coordinating conjunctions, and prepositions of three letters or fewer.
Capitalize prepositions of four or more letters.
Capitalize after a colon.

Title case vs. sentence case — the part most people get wrong

AMA capitalization isn't one rule applied everywhere. It's two systems that sit side by side, and mixing them up is the most common AMA formatting error:

Title case — used for journal names and full book titles. This is what the converter above and the rules on this page apply.
Sentence case — used for article titles inside a reference list. Only the first word, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns are capitalized. Everything else stays lowercase, even though it sits directly next to a title-cased journal name.

In practice, a single AMA reference line often mixes both: the article title in sentence case, followed immediately by the journal name in title case. If you're formatting a reference list rather than a journal or book title, use this tool's sentence case converter instead, and reserve title case for the journal or book name.

Worked examples

The same set of titles, converted under AMA Manual of Style rules. Try them yourself by switching the style pill on the homepage.

Input	AMA
`a randomized trial of new therapies`	A Randomized Trial of New Therapies
`the effect of vitamin d on bone density`	The Effect of Vitamin D on Bone Density
`clinical guidelines for diabetes management`	Clinical Guidelines for Diabetes Management
`systematic review of cancer screening`	Systematic Review of Cancer Screening

Edge cases we handle

Proper nouns — iPhone, JavaScript, NASA stay capitalized correctly mid-title.
Hyphenated compounds — handled per AMA's specific rule.
After a colon — the first word after a colon is capitalized.
Acronyms and ALLCAPS runs — preserved as-is.

Frequently asked questions

Does AMA style use title case or sentence case for article titles?
Both — journal names and book titles use title case; article titles inside a reference list use sentence case. This is the most common AMA mix-up.

What's the preposition length cutoff in AMA style?
Three letters or fewer stay lowercase (in, on, of). Four-letter-or-longer prepositions (With, From, Into) are capitalized — stricter than Chicago or Bluebook's four-letter cutoff.

Do manuscript section headings follow the same rule?
Not necessarily — many journals use sentence case for headings like Methods and Results as house style, independent of the reference-list rule. Check your target journal's author guidelines.

How does AMA differ from APA?
Same three-letter preposition cutoff, nearly identical output on ordinary titles. They diverge on hyphenated-compound handling and Greek-letter conventions common in scientific writing.

How do I capitalize a medical title using AMA guidelines?
Journal names and book titles use AMA title case (above). Article titles inside a reference list use sentence case instead — only the first word, the word after a colon, and proper nouns capitalized.

What is the AMA style guide rule for capitalization?
Capitalize the first/last word, all major words, and prepositions of four-plus letters. Lowercase articles, coordinating conjunctions, and prepositions of three letters or fewer.

Try AMA title case now.

Open the converter →

Source

This page summarizes public guidance from the AMA Manual of Style. For the complete, authoritative rules, consult the official source directly:

AMA Manual of Style Online — the official, subscription-based reference published by Oxford University Press in partnership with the American Medical Association

Want to compare with another style? See the style guides index. Formatting a reference list rather than a journal name? Read when to use title case vs. sentence case.

AMA Manual of Styletitle-case rules