![]() ![]() ![]() That Oxford comma leaves no room for doubt about how the writer is related to Lincoln and Tubman: as a distant admirer only, and not as a blood relative. My favorite people are my cousins, Abraham Lincoln, and Harriet Tubman. It’s easily fixed by adding the Oxford comma for clarity: In this case, skipping the Oxford comma leaves open some hilarious unintended meanings. Are you interpreting this sentence to mean that the writer has at least four favorite people, including two or more cousins, the sixteenth president of the United States and the leader of the Underground Railroad? Or do you see that the writer has just two favorite people, his distant cousins Honest Abe and Harriet Tubman? This sentence does not use the Oxford comma, and it can be read two ways. My favorite people are my cousins, Abraham Lincoln and Harriet Tubman. That extra bit of punctuation can also help to erase some ambiguity in sentences. There are certain times when using an Oxford comma does more than just make the sentence look prettier. ![]() Using the Oxford Comma to Clear Up Confusion The habit of using the Oxford comma will serve them well in most of their writing assignments in secondary school and college. This is typically the style schools require for research papers, so it makes sense to teach students the Oxford comma now. Many academic writing styles also require the Oxford comma, most notably the Modern Language Association (MLA). Many magazines use the Oxford comma, and you’ll often see it in books. On the other hand, plenty of publishers do require the Oxford comma in their style guides. You’ll see this streamlined style in use in almost every newspaper, and it tends to be the default style of internet publications as well. Their argument is that the Oxford comma adds nothing to general comprehension and can therefore be omitted. For example, The Associated Press (AP) style guide insists on cutting out the Oxford comma, presumably so that newspapers didn’t waste ink or space on unnecessary punctuation. The only time that there’s a real rule about whether or not to use the Oxford comma is when you’re writing according to a particular style guide for publication. It’s a Matter of Style – Choosing What to Teach Students About the Oxford Comma Either is a viable option in the writing community. The first sentence uses the Oxford comma while the second does not use the Oxford Comma. I need to add flour, milk and sugar to the grocery list. That means that you can write the sentence two ways, and both are correct: Whether you use the Oxford Comma or not is really up to you. The tricky part about the Oxford comma is that the Oxford Comma is completely optional. The comma before the word “and” is the Oxford comma. I need to add flour, milk, and sugar to the grocery list. You already know that when you list items in a sentence, you separate them by commas. The Oxford comma is just another name for a regular old serial comma. Here’s everything you need to know about the Oxford comma. If you haven’t heard of it, the Oxford comma isn’t a big deal, despite the fancy name that evokes grammarians looking down on your less-than-perfect essay. If you’re a grammar nerd, you probably already have strong opinions about the Oxford comma. ![]()
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