The Case Against the Oxford Comma

Here’s why this discretionary punctuation mark is overrated.

Photo by Hermes Rivera on Unsplash

I’m going to get a lot of heat for writing this: The Oxford comma is overrated.

This discretionary punctuation mark has become a cultural obsession. Anyone who’s ever typed a sentence seems to profess their undying love for the Oxford comma. It’s a trope of dating profiles and song lyrics. It’s been the focus of lawsuits, and it’s at the center of one of the most contentious copy-editing disputes of all time.

This debate needs to die.

Declaring unconditional loyalty to an elective glyph is like wearing the same outfit every day: It’s not appropriate for every situation, and when it’s the wrong choice, it will cause you a lot of embarrassment.

Pick a side

In case you missed out on this grammatical wedge issue, the Oxford comma, also called the serial comma, is the comma that precedes the last element in a series (before the conjunction “and” or “or”).

With the Oxford comma: The American flag is red, white, and blue.
Without the Oxford comma: The American flag is red, white and blue.

Proponents of the serial comma say it’s essential for clarity; opponents say it’s unnecessary…