the oxford comma.

In the literary world there are a lot of rules. While some authors celebrate doing their own thing, it is still good to at least know the rules before you break them. As with any profession, there are some things that are non-negotiable (such as correct spelling) and there are some things that are stylistic.

If you’ve done any collegiate writing, you are aware of the different styles of writing. APA, MLA, Turabian, and then some. (I just recently became familiar with Turabian as a preferred editor for dissertations.) Most of these styles have similarities and small differences. Neither is wrong; it’s just following the chosen one.

As an editor, I have preferences and I’ll admit that although I would like to think of myself as the Comma Killer, I am still partial to the Oxford comma. 

The Oxford comma, also known as the serial comma, is the last comma used in a series or 3 or more things. For example:

The Ava trilogy by Christian Cashelle consists of Ava’s Story, When All Else Fails, and My Mother’s Child. 

The Oxford comma is the one after “Fails” and although having it there is grammatically correct, it would also be correct to remove it. 

The reason I prefer the Oxford comma is because it separates all of the moving parts in a series. Since “and” is commonly known as combining two things together, I feel that without the Oxford comma it merges only two of the items in a series together while leaving the other separate. 

Although the above example can go with or without, there are times when the Oxford comma is necessary. 

Ava saw her two daughters, Sunny and Trishelle leaving the church. 

Ava saw her two daughters, Sunny, and Trishelle leaving the church. 

In the first example it reads as if Ava’s daughters’ names are Sunny and Trishelle. In the second example (which is contextually correct) Ava sees a total of 4 people: Sunny, Trishelle, and her two daughters. 

Although both examples are grammatically correct, use of the Oxford comma removed any ambiguity from the second sentence. 

So, unless stylistically required, use of this comma is up to you. The only rule you must follow is consistency throughout your project. Don’t use it and then half way through drop it. That’s a sure fire way to prove you don’t know the rules. 

Do you use the Oxford comma in your writing? Why or why not?