What is the point of the Oxford comma?

The Oxford comma is the last comma used in a list of three or more items and is stylistic in its usage, which essentially means that you use it depending on what kind of writing you’re doing. Proponents of the Oxford comma say that this last comma provides clarity and helps the reader.

Is it wrong to not use an Oxford comma?

The Oxford comma comes right after eraser. Use of the Oxford comma is stylistic, meaning that some style guides demand its use while others don’t. Unless you’re writing for a particular publication or drafting an essay for school, whether or not you use the Oxford comma is generally up to you.

Why do people love the Oxford comma?

Proponents say it provides clarity, and critics say it provides redundancy. It goes by “serial” and “Oxford,” for the Oxford University Press style guide, which advocates for the serial comma (even though it’s generally more common in American English usage than British English).

Do they teach Oxford comma in school?

He said the Oxford comma had been banned in the latest guidance to teachers, so any child writing “tall, dark, and handsome” had to be marked incorrect. That meant Oxford comma fans (Crystal counted himself as one) were now using the wrong punctuation.

Is the Oxford comma correct in British English?

British and American English both use the Oxford comma like this, but they differ on when it is used: Typically, in British English, we only use an Oxford comma when a list would be unclear without one, such as in the example sentence above. In American English, it is often standard to use an Oxford comma in lists.

What is the Oxford comma and when do I use it?

The proper definition of the Oxford comma is “a comma used after the penultimate item in a list of three or more items, before ‘and’ or ‘or’.” For example: “Today I went to lunch with my roommates, Tom, and Molly.”

What is a serial Oxford comma?

Serial comma. The serial comma (also known as the Oxford comma or Harvard comma, and sometimes referred to as the series comma) is the comma used immediately before a coordinating conjunction (usually and or or, and sometimes nor) preceding the final item in a list of three or more items.

Is there a comma in APA?

Use serial commas. The APA Style guide actually requires the serial comma, and other major academic style guides, such as MLA and Chicago, recommend it. The serial comma is the comma before the conjunction in a list (e.g. The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle).

What is a serial comma?

In English language punctuation, a serial comma or series comma (also called an Oxford comma or a Harvard comma) is a comma placed immediately before the coordinating conjunction (usually and or or) in a series of three or more terms. For example, a list of three countries might be punctuated either as “France, Italy, and Spain” (with the serial comma), or as “France, Italy and Spain” (without the serial comma).