The Oxford Comma: One Controversial Squiggly Line

Four syllables. Two words. One large debate. The Oxford comma. 

One silly little squiggly line causes so much controversy, and I’m all in on this debate. In the words of “Hamlet”: ‘To use, or not to use?’ The Oxford comma, or “a comma used after the penultimate item in a list of three or more items, before ‘and’ or ‘or’” credits its origins to the Oxford University Press; however, there is confusion over who actually began using the Oxford—also known as Serial—comma. The Oxford University Press itself dates back over several centuries ago and strives to publish the best scholarly and general interest books and journals academia has to offer to promote research and scholarship. Although the Oxford University Press has its own unique history, that’s not what this article is about.

There are a variety of different writing styles that differ in their use of the Serial comma. The American Psychological Association (APA) requires that any paper should use the comma. Most English professors also like to see the Oxford comma in research papers and other written literature since it follows the rules of the Modern Language Association. Literary magazines such as Geneseo’s Gandy Dancer also desire the Oxford comma, and generally most authors I’ve seen use it, too.

There seems to be a common thread so far, right? I have written in all of the styles listed above, and basically, what I have learned is that if it’s academic writing or creative writing of any sort, people will generally advocate for the little squiggle. While this is all understandable, journalistic style tends to disagree.

Associated Press (AP) style—not to be confused with APA—does not require the use of the comma. This is generally used by newspapers, magazines and any other type of journalistic writing. There is a reason for the journalistic madness—if the sentence doesn’t need a comma, why complicate it?

Even the Her Campus Stylebook—accessible to campus correspondents—states to use the trusty comma only if the sentence is complex. The HC stylebook also tends to follow most AP style rules. Articles are supposed to be concise, so why should someone add an unnecessary piece of punctuation people probably won’t even notice?

I’ve written very heavily in AP style with HC and Geneseo’s student newspaper The Lamron. Since I also edit for both, I’m constantly removing the Serial comma from other writers’ work, but using the comma is a hard habit to break.

It’s even hard to start writing with the Oxford comma again after not using it for some of the purposes listed above. I’ve had several professors add the comma back into my work if I miss them because I’d been writing in AP style for so long.

How do I keep it straight when I’m writing and editing if one comma is so controversial? Honestly, I just had to get used to it. I’ve somehow learned to train my brain to only use the Oxford comma when it’s required. It’s personal preference for each publication, so when I’m editing, I have to be willing to put aside my feelings to do what’s best for each piece I’m looking at. I’s the same for when I write, too. As a driven writer and editor, I need to be able to differentiate when I need it and when I don’t for my future career path.

So, do I like the Oxford comma? I wrote an entire article dedicated to it, so I guess you could say I love the Oxford comma. Even if I have figured out when to use it and when to lose it, that doesn’t mean the comma is any less significant to my professional work. Yet, it also gives me so much trouble since many people I know have some strong opinions on the little squiggle. Honestly, who really cares so much about a little Oxford comma?

If this article has done anything, it has given attention to the most interesting piece of punctuation in the English language. Unless you get me started on all the other punctuation marks that people clearly don’t spend enough time on. Then I could go crazy.

• english
• journalism
• literature
• nerds