Five-Minute Writing Tip # 21 - In Defense of the Oxford Comma

The Oxford comma (sometimes called a serial comma) is used in a series of three or more words separated by commas and a final conjunction. For example, “The countries on my bucket list to visit are Spain, France, and Greece.” Some grammarians feel that the Oxford comma is often redundant and therefore not necessary; that “and” works as a substitute for the last comma; i.e., “The countries on my bucket list to visit are Spain, France and Greece.” In this particular example, either convention works fine. But removing an Oxford comma can cause ambiguity (or worse) in some instances: “Every Sunday morning I read the comics, the Wall Street Journal and the Christian Science Monitor.” Without an Oxford comma, this sentence gives me pause. Are the Wall Street Journal and the Christian Science Monitor that funny?

And so on:

• “The people I admire most are my parents, Pope Francis and Michelle Obama.”
• “When hiking through the woods, be on the lookout for edible plants, black-capped chickadees and banana slugs.” 
• “I was thrilled to be on the same plane to Europe with my sisters, Jane Goodall and Ellen DeGeneres.”
• Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style recommend using the Oxford comma except in the names of businesses or firms: Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner and Smith, Inc.
• English writer and journalist Lynne Truss’s bestseller, Eat, Shoots and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation, is clear on her view of the Oxford comma: use always!
• In her book, Between You and Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen, Mary Norris recognizes the occasional need for an Oxford comma, but asks, “Isn’t the and sufficient?” Incidentally, Norris does not care for the term “Oxford.” She feels that this highbrow term isn’t warranted: “Why not call it the Cornhuskers comma?” she asks.

So whenever you feel like using an Oxford (I have no problem with that sobriquet) or a serial comma, stop and consider clarity. If you’re really not the product of Pope Francis and Michelle Obama (example above), an Oxford comma after His Holiness makes that clear. 

---