Do you know what an Oxford comma is?
Do you care?
If you’re a writer, you probably have a strong opinion on them. I know I do. But for you lukewarm comma users, the Oxford comma, otherwise known as the serial comma, is the last one used (or not used) in a list of three or more things right before the “and.”
Example: the tree, frog, and bumblebee.
Or, as I staunchly prefer: the tree, frog and bumblebee.
Most style guides are pro-Oxford comma. The Chicago Manual of Style loves it. The AP Style Guide is against it, unless it offers clarity on your particular list. (Some lists have things that could be confusing otherwise – I’ll spare you that example because I say if you have a confusing list, you got 52 problems and the comma ain’t one.)
The venerable Oxford Style Guide holds it dear, for all things good and holy in this heathen world! Tut, tut, cough cough. (Insert English accent.) Hence the name.
I personally loathe the Oxford comma. I delete them like swatting flies. And I’ll tell you why. But first let’s just consider commas, and what their purpose is in the world. A world with bigger problems than commas, I know, I know, but this is a writing website so spare me your lesson in perspective.
Let’s just consider the comma in general. How about a hastily drawn metaphor? Commas are grains of salt, and sentences are chili. There are chili recipes that specify how much salt to use, and then there are the free-spirited cooks (chefs and home cooks alike) who toss salt in with abandon. To taste.
They don’t call them style guides for nothing.
I’m the kind of cook who uses recipes (grammar rules), but will deviate when I feel the recipe calls for it (meaning, I’ll do anything stylistically when I feel like it gets my meaning across more acutely, or improves the reader’s experience.)
I believe the comma’s main job is to provide a pause in the reader’s mind. It’s a mental checkout line divider (you know those things you use to separate your groceries on the conveyor belt?) However, commas are, to my eye, not just utilitarian. They’re not just used according to some formula.
Commas are felt.
It drives me crazy when I see that extra comma before the “and.” Because I don’t need to pause before the “and.” I just want to finish reading the darn list! Don’t slow me down with your Oxford comma.
So use commas the way God intended: judiciously, but with abandon.
How’s that for clarity?