Settling the Oxford Comma Debate, Once and For All…

There might be no subject more debated and scrutinised in the grammar world than the serial comma. Known alternately as the Oxford comma or the Harvard comma, the serial comma is the final comma in a list of three or more things. It comes directly after the second-last thing in the list and directly before the last coordinate conjunction (and/or). It doesn’t matter whether the things in the lists are words, phrases or clauses–the final comma is still called the serial comma.

Many writers and editors identify strongly as ‘anti-serial-comma’ or ‘pro-serial-comma’. Some believe it’s mostly unnecessary, while others believe it should be used in every list-containing sentence.

There’s no universal rule for using (or not using) a serial comma. Most book and journal publications follow style guides that require or recommend using a serial comma for all lists. This includes:

• Chicago
• APA
• GPO
• WIT
• CSE

However, most news media publications and a number of magazines follow AP style, which recommends not using the serial comma unless the meaning of a sentence becomes unclear without it.

Unless you’re following a particular style guide for your writing, the choice to…