People are probably equally divided on the use of the Oxford Comma, but I’m strictly against its use and that has caused some difficulties.
So, what is the Oxford Comma?
The Oxford Comma is the comma before “and” or “or” when terminating a comma-delimited list. For example:
Dick, Susan, and Jane ran to the park.
I had to force myself to include the comma before the “and” in the previous example. I would have instead written this sentence as:
Dick, Susan and Jane ran to the park.
Strunk and White encourage the Oxford Comma as does the Chicago Style manual. The AP manual makes the Oxford comma optional – and there lies my only glimmer of hope. Seriously, I have to force myself to use the Oxford comma, after which I feel the need to take a shower to cleanse myself.
The downside to not using the Oxford Comma is that Grammarly complains, and I can find no way to get Grammarly to ignore the Oxford Comma check, let alone reverse it (e.g. mark the use of the Oxford Comma as an error).
So, here I stand, ever steadfast and possibly alone, against Tyranny, Falsehood and the Oxford Comma.
I’ll see you in the classroom,
—Brian
