In praise of the Oxford comma

A single comma. A thousand arguments. Which side are you on?

Gary Bloomer | SHAKING THE TREE #191

Photo by Evy Prentice on Unsplash

It's the tiny punctuation mark that sparks massive debates.

Love it or hate it, the Oxford comma has the power to change meaning.

But are you sure you’re using it correctly?

And is the Oxford comma worth all the fuss?

The Oxford (or serial) comma appears before the final conjunction in a comma separated list and rather than being a writing standard, it’s seen more as a stylistic choice.

I’ve written about the Oxford comma before. Several readers were not impressed.

To be clear, use of the Oxford comma is both a personal preference and a matter of grammatical style. Its use is intended to prevent confusion and misinterpretation.

Personally, I’m a fan.

Dyed-in-the-wool followers of the Associated Press prefer not to use this minor element of punctuation and that’s fine.

I see its use as where to omit it could create doubt in meaning.

Despite beliefs that Oxford commas are irrelevant, I’m advocating for its use—not for the sake of being a grammar purist, simply for the benefit of readers everywhere.

The Oxford comma appears before the final conjunction in a comma separated list.

It’s a valuable tool of messaging clarity, the presence of which significantly reduces the risk of ambiguity, and in doing so, ensuring that clarity of meaning is conveyed exactly as intended.

Consider this gem of an example:

“I’d like to thank my parents, Barrack Obama and Jane Fonda.”

Without an Oxford comma, the sentence implies the writer’s parents are Barrack Obama and Jane Fonda—an amusing though unintended explanation.

Insert the comma after “Obama,” and suddenly the sentence is clear: the writer is thanking three distinct entities: their parents. And Barrack Obama. And Jane Fonda.

Here are a few more examples:

Example 1 (things acquired):

• "I bought a feather boa, a rubber chicken, and a miniature replica of the Eiffel Tower." (Clear separation of each item.)

  • This list emphasizes the quirky and random nature of the items, making the clarity provided by the Oxford comma even more valuable.

Example 2 (event attendees):

• "We invited an interpretive dance collective, a renowned kazoo virtuoso, and a talking pineapple." (Without the Oxford comma, this could be read very differently.)

  • This version leans into the absurd and surreal. The "talking pineapple" immediately creates a comical image, and the absence of the Oxford comma would make the sentence bizarrely confusing.

The purpose:

An Oxford comma clarifies the relationships between items in a list, preventing potential ambiguity. It provides a consistent structure to lists.

Example:

Without the Oxford comma: "I had mashed potatoes, steak and abeer."
With the Oxford comma: "I had mashed potatoes, steak, and a beer."

The debate:

Whether or not to use the Oxford comma is a matter of style, with different style guides and individuals having varying preferences.

This simple punctuation mark eliminates confusion and prevents misinterpretation.

For readers, the Oxford comma is a safeguard against unnecessary cognitive load.

When a sentence is ambiguous, the reader must pause, reread, and decipher the writer’s true intent.

This takes time and disrupts the flow of comprehension and, in some cases, even changes the meaning entirely.

The Oxford comma removes this obstacle, allowing information to be absorbed smoothly and efficiently.

While many writers argue that the Oxford comma is unnecessary, especially in journalistic writing, where brevity is a priority, economy of words should not come at the expense of clarity.

In legal and technical writing, where precision is paramount, the absence of an Oxford comma has even led to costly lawsuits.

When clarity is the goal—which ought to be the case all the time—there is little justification for omitting a tool that ensures it.

Ultimately, the Oxford comma is not just a matter of preference; it is a matter of respect for the reader.

As writers we have a responsibility to communicate our ideas as clearly as possible, and the Oxford comma is a simple, effective way to honor that duty.

The role of language is to serve the audience, and in this case, a single, well-placed comma makes all the difference.

As always, thanks for reading.

Feel free to follow me on Twitter and LinkedIn

If you’ve like what you’ve seen here, why not share this post with a friend?

P.S. Next time on Shaking the Tree … Good and bad decisions: lessons from Mark Twain

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Originally from the U.K., Gary Bloomer is a writer, branding advocate, marketing specialist, and an award-winning graphic designer.
His design work has been included in Creative Review (one of the UK’s largest design magazines). Since 2009, he has answered over 5,000 marketing and business questions in the Know-How Exchange of MarketingProfs.com, placing him among the top 3% of contributors. He lives in Wilmington, Delaware, USA.