Understanding the Oxford Comma

Name a more divisive grammatical concept than the Oxford comma, we’ll wait! There are even songs about this controversial topic.

The Oxford comma (also known as the serial comma) is the final comma in a list of things.

• Example: I went to the store to buy spaghetti, apples, and cookies. That last comma before the “and” is a serial comma.

Writers, readers, pop artists, and experts everywhere are very divided on whether writers should use the serial comma or not. There are a number of style guides and grammatical organizations that do recommend writers use the serial comma, including:

• Grammarly
• The Chicago Manual of Style
• The Elements of Style

However, the one big stickler for not using the serial comma is AP Style, and most news publications and journalists follow AP Style.

So in PR, because we are working so closely with news publications and journalists, we should typically omit the serial comma.

Some examples:

• During the Weekend Update on SNL, Michael Che and Colin Jost talked about the coronavirus, Love Is Blind and Super Tuesday.
• The company will use its new funding to invest in R&D, expand its leadership team and launch a new product.

Sometimes, however, you need the serial comma for the sentence to make sense. Here are some examples:

• Without the serial comma: Madeleine’s biggest heroes are her parents, Barack Obama and JK Rowling. Wait, Madeleine’s parents are Barack Obama and JK Rowling?
• With the serial comma: Madeleine’s biggest heroes are her parents, Barack Obama, and JK Rowling. Oh, Madeleine has 4 different heroes.

You might also have a client who insists on using the serial comma. In that case, we recommend you just use it! Whatever you decide to do, the most important thing is to be consistent.