This guide will help you understand how to properly cite sources in AMS format, ensuring your academic work meets the necessary standards for mathematics papers.
Jan 4, 2026
By
Joe Pacal, MSc
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TL;DR
AMS style offers numbered, author-year, and alphanumeric citation options. This guide covers reference formats for journals, books, and arXiv preprints, plus MathSciNet (MR) number requirements. Works seamlessly with LaTeX and amsrefs packages. Perfect for mathematics research and American Mathematical Society publications.
What is the AMS Format?
The American Mathematical Society (AMS) style is the standard citation format for mathematics journals, including Journal of the American Mathematical Society, Transactions of the AMS, Communications in Algebra, and American Mathematical Monthly. The AMS Style Guide provides comprehensive guidance for mathematical writing and references.
Mathematics papers have unique citation needs—proofs reference specific theorems, notation matters, and precision is paramount. AMS style accommodates these requirements while maintaining clarity.
Quick Overview: AMS Citation Format
AMS offers three in-text citation systems:
Numerical citations: References appear as bracketed numbers [1], [2], [3] corresponding to a numbered reference list.
Author-year citations: References use author surname and year in parentheses (Smith 2024).
Alphanumeric abbreviations: References use abbreviated codes combining author names and year [DL99], [Smi24].
Most mathematics journals use numerical citations, though author-year appears in some publications. The key principle: be consistent throughout your paper.
In-Text Citations in AMS
Numerical System (Most Common)
References are numbered sequentially, and numbers are reused for repeat citations:
Mathematicians help improve efficiency of data centers using Markov chains [1]. This builds on earlier work [2], [3]. As shown in [1], the approach generalizes to other domains.
For multiple citations: [1], [2] or [1, 3, 5] or [4–7] for consecutive references.
Author-Year System
Recent advances in algebraic topology (Morrison 2023) have expanded our understanding of...
Alphanumeric System
Codes combine author initials and year:
The conjecture was first proposed in [DL99] and later proved in [Fab09].
Where [DL99] refers to Denef and Loeser, 1999.
Reference List Format
AMS emphasizes precision and completeness. Always include MathSciNet review numbers (MR numbers) when available, as these provide permanent identifiers for mathematical literature.
Journal Articles
Numerical format:
Alphanumeric format:
Key elements:
Author names as they appear (not inverted)
Article title in sentence case
Abbreviated journal title in italics
Volume in bold, followed by year in parentheses
Issue number preceded by "no."
Page range
DOI (formatted with space after "DOI")
MathSciNet review number
Books
For books in a series, include series name and volume number.
Book Chapters
Conference Proceedings
Preprints
Dissertations
AMS Formatting Guidelines
"Less is more": The AMS Style Guide emphasizes clarity and conciseness. Avoid unnecessary words and keep mathematical notation consistent.
Journal abbreviations: Use standard mathematical abbreviations. Common examples:
Inventiones Mathematicae → Invent. Math.
Annals of Mathematics → Ann. of Math.
Journal of the American Mathematical Society → J. Amer. Math. Soc.
Transactions of the American Mathematical Society → Trans. Amer. Math. Soc.
MathSciNet: Use the MR Lookup tool to find correct citation information and MR numbers.
Common AMS Mistakes to Avoid
Missing MR numbers: Include MathSciNet review numbers whenever available—they're the standard identifier for mathematical literature.
Incorrect journal abbreviations: Verify abbreviations against MathSciNet or the AMS's standard list.
Inconsistent author name formatting: In AMS style, use author names as they appear on the publication, not inverted (J. Smith, not Smith, J.).
Omitting DOIs: Modern AMS style encourages including DOIs for all references that have them.
Mixing citation systems: Choose numerical, author-year, or alphanumeric and stick with it throughout.
AMS Citation Tools
For mathematics, LaTeX with amsrefs is the standard approach. The amsrefs package formats citations according to AMS conventions automatically.
To get proper amsrefs formatting:
Search for your source in MathSciNet
Select "AMSRefs" from the dropdown menu
Copy the formatted code directly into your LaTeX document
Reference managers like Zotero include AMS style templates, though verifying output against MathSciNet is recommended.
For building your literature foundation, Wonders AI helps researchers discover mathematical papers and organize citations for proper attribution.
References
American Mathematical Society. AMS Style Guide: Journals [Internet]. Providence (RI): AMS; [cited 2025 Jan 2]. Available from: https://www.ams.org/arc/styleguide/index.html
University of Southern California Libraries. American Mathematical Society (AMS) Citation Style [Internet]. Los Angeles: USC; [cited 2025 Jan 2]. Available from: https://libguides.usc.edu/c.php?g=974981&p=7048536
California State University Channel Islands Writing Center. AMS Style Guide [Internet]. Camarillo (CA): CSUCI; [cited 2025 Jan 2]. Available from: https://www.csuci.edu/wmc/pdf/citations/ams-style-guide-revised2020.pdf
