From Grammar About.com:
Earlier this week I had an interesting conversation with someone in the publishing industry. During a discussion about editing styles, he mentioned how he hated the Oxford comma. Until that moment, it hadn't dawned on me how strongly people felt about it. I realized that Oxford (or serial) commas are the Comic Sans of editing.
I posted an amusing article from Mental Floss (love that site) to my personal Facebook page (but for some reason, not to my professional one). It goes in-depth into the pros and cons of the Oxford comma.
Before I continue, let me just state it flat out. I am very much in the anti-Oxford comma camp. Why? Because ever since I can remember, the one thing that makes me grind my teeth in frustration are run-on sentences. To me, commas are like a visible rash of bad grammar. I see this all the time when I'm helping ESL students hone their writing skills.
Of course, there is also the pro-Oxford comma camp (it prevents ambiguity, they say):
I posted an amusing article from Mental Floss (love that site) to my personal Facebook page (but for some reason, not to my professional one). It goes in-depth into the pros and cons of the Oxford comma.
Before I continue, let me just state it flat out. I am very much in the anti-Oxford comma camp. Why? Because ever since I can remember, the one thing that makes me grind my teeth in frustration are run-on sentences. To me, commas are like a visible rash of bad grammar. I see this all the time when I'm helping ESL students hone their writing skills.
Of course, there is also the pro-Oxford comma camp (it prevents ambiguity, they say):
A side note, I just learned that the Oxford, or serial comma is also called the Harvard comma. Talk about an identity crisis!
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