Today I’m not going to talk about platforms, plot twists, or character development. Instead, I’m going to talk about one of my favorite things: the Oxford comma.
The Oxford comma (also known as the serial comma, series comma, or Harvard comma) is something that grammar nerds and English-language aficionados love to debate.
As “serial” indicates, the Oxford comma is used when listing a series of items. It is placed immediately after the penultimate (second to last) term in the series.
So you might say: apples, oranges, and bananas.
But you would actually be okay NOT using the final comma, and instead just writing it as this: apples, oranges and bananas. People adhering to the AP Guidebook (e.g. newspaper reporters), generally don’t use the Oxford comma.
Here is where things get tricky, though. If a comma will change the meaning of a sentence, then the Oxford comma would be appropriate.
I am inspired by my parents, Barack Obama and Taylor Swift.
Unless your parents are actually Barack Obama and Taylor Swift, you’ll want to add that comma after “Obama.”
(If you find yourself on the anti-comma side of the spectrum, of course the solution would be rewriting the sentence: I am inspired by Barack Obama, Taylor Swift and my parents.)
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