Grammar Q: Use of commas in lists

Ah. The Oxford comma. I use B but it’s a stylistic matter.

I’ll add that both are correct. As I said, it’s stylistic. Most who went to a catholic or college preparatory school were taught to use B, without the final comma. Journalists typically are taught to write using the AP style which uses the extra comma. Neither are incorrect.

A

Grammar and punctuation is a white supremacist construct.

Literally Hitler

The Queen used the Oxford.

I use the Oxford.

quote:

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Most who went to a catholic or college preparatory school were taught to use B

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Not sure where you went or how old you are, but this is most definitely not the case in my experience and I went to Catholic school K-12. We were always taught A, but I’m 47 so it’s quite possible that has changed.

I prefer the Oxford comma in A, but the AP Style in B is fine as long as it doesn't cause confusion. On rare occasions, items 2 and 3 can appear to be an appositive phrase that is descriptive of item 1 rather than a list. Here are some classic extreme examples:



"We messaged the OT mods, DLauw and Cowboyfan89." That might be confusing for some.

I was taught is was stylistic however in law school I learned it could be massively important in contracts. I use it before "and" and "or" most of the time unless I mean something very different in a contract.

The seminal work for attorneys is A Manual of Style for Contract Drafting which did not use the Oxford comma until a group of drivers sued Oakhurst Dairy about 9 years ago and settled their case for $5,000,000. Had the drafter of the contract used an Oxford comma after the penultimate item in the list and before the word "or" the case would have been worth $0. That was a quite an expensive comma and I have always been glad my contracts prof drilled into us the importance over 20 years before Ken Adams changed the style manual for contracts.

I use A like God intended.

A - that's what was taught in school and also in professional writing courses in the military.