Perhaps you’re familiar with the Vampire Weekend song, “Oxford Comma.” The opening line posits: “Who gives a f** about an Oxford comma?” A rhetorical question at its finest.
And to this I say, me! I do! I care a whole awful lot about the Oxford comma. More than the average person cares for any punctuation mark. I first remember hearing the song at the ripe age of five as my mom drove us miles out of Texas for endless road tripping adventures. I credit these drives to shaping my refined music taste, language skills still developing, I really had no idea what Ezra Koenig was saying. Today, I can understand the lyrics and am still captivated by the track.
As I got older, my language skills improved and I began writing essays for school. My mom, a strong writer herself, edited my papers. I give her credit for helping me become the writer I am today. She taught me the Oxford comma and is part of the reason why it’s shown up in all of my texts, emails and essays since. Every single piece of but one: my journalism articles.
When I turned in the initial draft of my first ever article to David Schonfeld, NWA’s High School Journalism teacher, he must have circled at least 10 Oxford commas in bright red ink. The ink that screams, “Get this outta here.” I protested, of course, throwing my hands up in the air and demanding an explanation. After all, this was a personal offense.
“No,” he said.
We went back and forth for a bit before I slumped in my chair, arms crossed with a defeated look on my face. I tried not to overstep or make more of a scene than I already had, especially considering his years of editing experience. Even still, this no Oxford comma business just didn’t sit right with me.
The Oxford comma is part of me as a writer and it doesn’t help that I’m allowed (and encouraged) to use it in all my other classes. So, it’s inevitable that one will sneak its way into my articles every so often. But when they do, they’re not there for long.
Now, when I hand in my articles to Schonfeld and he finds the occasional Oxford comma he doesn’t say a word. Instead, he slowly shifts his glance from the paper to me with a look that says, “You should know this by now.” And even slower than that, he circles the punctuation mark with his red pen. I say nothing back but give him a dramatic eye roll that speaks for itself and a small part of me dies inside.
I finally decided to find a better explanation than “no.” Turns out what Schonfeld really means is that’s not how it’s done in journalism.
Lynne Truss wrote a book called Eats, Shoots & Leaves to settle punctuation debates such as the one Schonfeld and I share. The New York Times Bestseller is “The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation.” Truss acknowledges the controversy the Oxford comma’s “ivory-tower moniker” evokes and opens the comma section in her book by addressing it.
“Hear that staccato cello?” she writes. “Well, start waving and yelling, because it is the so-called Oxford comma (also known as the serial comma) and it is a lot more dangerous than [it]…might suggest. There are people who embrace the Oxford comma and people who don’t, and I’ll just say this: never get between these people when drink has been taken.”
I have a feeling Truss knows of my and Schonfeld’s debate or at least one similar. She goes on to explain where the Oxford comma is commonly used and who avoids using it.
“In Britain, where standard usage is to leave [the Oxford comma] out, there are those who put it in…” said Truss. “In America, conversely, where standard usage is to leave it in, there are those who make a point of removing it (especially journalists).”
Ahh, so it’s not just Schonfeld who dislikes the comma, it’s the journalists. And yet, the reason being was still unbeknownst to me so I dug deeper.
Therese Bottomly, the Editor and Vice President of Content at The Oregonian, and shared that “as with most US newsrooms, [the Oregonian] follows the AP Stylebook.” But Bottomly went further to explain the reasoning behind this.
“The main issue is clarity,” said Bottomly. “As you can see [AP’s] guidelines recommend the Oxford comma when necessary for clarity or when the final element includes a conjunction. We agree with the guidelines and do not use the Oxford comma otherwise.”
So there are exceptions! This was what I was hoping to find in my research. J.T. Bushnell, Senior Instructor of English at Oregon State University, in his article called “What is an Oxford Comma (And Is it Really Optional)?” explains that the “serial commas take the place of conjunctions.”
For this reason, there was no need to double up on grammar and the comma was traditionally left out (a sort of “naan bread” or “chai tea” situation). This changed in 1905 when, according to his style guide, Horace Hart, head of printing for the well-known Oxford University Press, required his employees to add the extra comma. This also being where my favorite punctuation gets its name.
But that happened over a hundred years ago and Hart was one of the few who required the extra comma; the other notable one being the Harvard University Press. So, if the comma was so unpopular then, is it even relevant today? Surely it’s not happenstance that I grew up reading, writing and seeing it everywhere, right? It can’t be a coincidence that all my other teachers approve of its use. Bushnell finally answers my burning question.
“In America, you’re required to leave it out if you use the AP Stylebook, like most newspapers,” he writes. “You’re required to leave it in if you use the Chicago Manual of Style, like most publishers, or the MLA Handbook, like most academic disciplines. If you’re writing for school in the United States, MLA is usually standard unless your teacher says otherwise.”
Believe me, my teachers never say otherwise. In fact every NWA English Humanities teacher had only great things to say about the Oxford comma.
“Yes, yes, and yes to the Oxford comma,” said Jada Pierce, Humanities IV teacher.
Kyle Wiggins, Humanities III Teacher and Department Chair, was even more enthusiastic.
“I’m a huge, massive, galactically-large fan of the Oxford comma,” said Wiggins. “Now I retreat to prepare for our imminent punctuation civil war.”
Julie Ellington, Senior Thesis and Senior Project teacher and World Languages Department Chair, brings up a point Truss touches on as well. The Oxford comma not only serves an aesthetic purpose, but a practical one too.
“I’m also a fan of reason, clarity and the purposeful use of punctuation!” said Ellington. “Whom do accidental appositives, unclear antecedents and unmoored predicates serve? Nobody! But I’m especially a fan of using punctuation to serve meaning and purpose.”
There are instances where “the stylistic reasons for its inclusion clearly outweigh the grammatical ones for taking it out” as in Truss’s introduction of the book when she writes, “they tell us to slow down, notice this, take a detour, and stop.” Here Truss is comparing punctuation to traffic signals and uses the Oxford comma to make clear a list of four, rather than three, verbs.
But the AP style guide is one of the few oddballs that outright rejects the comma. According to Masterclass, Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style, the MLA Style Manual, The Chicago Manual of Style, APA style (not to be confused with AP) and the U.S. Government Printing Office Style Manual all approve of the inclusion of the Oxford comma.
In the end, the Oxford comma is more than just a punctuation mark—it’s a way of life, one with clarity, precision and a touch of tradition. Whether you’re team Oxford comma or not, there’s no denying its place in the grammar world—as long as you’re not writing for AP. But as for me, I’ll continue to champion the Oxford comma. Ready to face the red ink with a small sigh and dramatic eye roll. After all, it’s not just a comma; it’s the Oxford comma. And that makes all the difference to me, the world, and in the sentence.
Long live the Oxford comma!