Patricia Harrelson

When I was English instructor at a community college, I taught students that the comma preceding the “and” in a series was optional, like when you write “The butterflies, hummingbird and finch . . .” Optional means that it was their choice whether to include it or not. However, I cautioned, when you are writing for a particular editor, she may have a preference, and you had best follow her direction on the matter. Then I proceeded to explain that I was their editor while they were in my class, and I preferred that that they place the comma before the “and.”

My rationale for using this comma is that it prevents confusion or ambiguity, especially when the series was composed of phrases.

Now I’m writing for a web content site that adheres to the Associated Press(AP) Stylebook. AP omits the comma before the “and” in the series. Boy, is it hard to teach an old dog new tricks (to use a very stale metaphor). My fingers type that comma automatically, and my eyes usually miss several when I’m proofreading. But the copy editors NEVER miss slashing the commas I miss.

This particular employer maintains a scorecard for each writer based on copy editors’ evaluations. I swear that the reason I can’t get my score up to “proficient” is because I can’t remember to leave that last comma off. Now I know how my students felt when I repeatedly inserted that comma.

This comma thing bothers me so much that I was thinking about it on my morning walk today–a lovely hike above a sparkling reservoir with lovely vistas, dozens of birds, and small herds of deer along the way. (You’d think I’d be enjoying a lovely morning walk instead of thinking about commas, but nope!) Something occurred to me this morning as I walked that I hope will help break the habit of typing that extra comma. If I write “boys and girls” I don’t put a comma, so I shouldn’t put a comma in series such as this: “men, women, boys and girls.”

Still not totally convinced, I went searching on the Internet and found that my comma has a name “The Oxford Comma.” More importantly, I found that there are those who agree with my usage even if AP and my copy editors do not. But as I directed my students, I’d best do what my editors want.

Do you use Oxford comma? What do your editors prefer? How do you change writing habits of a many years?