ALiEM Cards are formatted in Markdown. [Markdown] is an easy way to format text so it can easily be shared across any device. With that flexibility come some formating limitations. This guide specifies the formatting standards for the cards.

If you are not familiar with Markdown, please take just a few minutes to go through the Markdown I think you will find it to be a simple and intuitive way to work.

All cards must contain a front matter block. This is detailed in the How to Build a Card Guide.

All cards must begin with a Header 1 containing their title.

# ABG Interpretation

You may use inline references where appropriate in the body of your card. Reference numbers should be denoted as follows:

76% of all pediatric patients will cry when you attempt otoscopy.[1]

All cards must close with a section for references. This section begins with a Header 2 titled References:

## References

The header is followed by an unordered list of references if there are no inline references in your card, or an ordered list corresponding to your inline references, if you used them. These references should include a link to the document's PubMed or DOI page as detailed in the Style Guide.

## References

- [Rutherford RB, Baker JD, Ernst C, Johnston KW, Porter JM, Ahn S, Jones DN. Recommended standards for reports dealing with lower extremity ischemia: revised version.J Vasc Surg. 1997 Sep;26(3):517-38.](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=9308598)

Or for a card with inline references:

## References

1. [Rutherford RB, Baker JD, Ernst C, Johnston KW, Porter JM, Ahn S, Jones DN. Recommended standards for reports dealing with lower extremity ischemia: revised version.J Vasc Surg. 1997 Sep;26(3):517-38.](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=9308598)
2. etc., etc.

Sections within the card should begin with a Header 2.

## Rules of thumb

Subsections can be set off from additional content with Header 3 titles. Subdivision beyond this level should be avoided.

### Lowest Level of Header

Basic formatting such as bold and italic text follows standard Markdown formatting as explained in the CommonMark.

Common formatting used in the cards include:

There are options within Markdown for how to denote strong or bold text. By convention, the cards will use asterisks.

**this text is bold**

Like bold text, there are options withing Markdown for how to denote emphasize or italic text. By convention, the cards will use a single underscore.

_this text is italic_

Lists can be written with all kinds of bullet markers. By convention, we use single dashes, followed by a single space and then the list item content. Only nested list items should be indented.

Unordered List

- Item 1
- Item 2
- Item 3
  - Item 3.1
- Item 4

Ordered lists are identical to unordered lists but use numbers and periods instead of dashes.

Ordered List

1. Item 1
2. Item 2
3. Item 3
4. Item 4

Tables are formatted using Github-flavored Markdown. Tables that cannot be easily and clearly formatted using this method should be avoided.

Images are formatted using standard Markdown. Images files should be included in the same folder as the card file, as detailed in the Technical Guide. This makes links simple.

![](image-1.png)

Markdown is used because it can be easily turned into HTML. Therefore HTML can be included in a Markdown document.

Some HTML is required throughout the cards.

Don't be scared. This will be easy.

A simple <span></span> tag is required around drug names.

<span class="drug">epinephrine</span>

Videos can be embedded using the HTML tags provided by YouTube or Vimeo.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mkKpv-xAJJA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>