The Great Debate
As a journalism major, I have been taught that the AP Stylebook is essentially the Bible of writing. Said stylebook has preached against the Oxford comma for many, many years much to the chagrin of literature lovers and English majors everywhere. Before we continue, let's take a brief moment to review the definition of this punctuation that has caused so much hullabaloo.
An Oxford comma is the comma that appears before the conjunction "and" in a list or series. For example: Amos went to the store to purchase butter, milk, and eggs. The same sentence without it would look like this: Amos went to the store to purchase butter, milk and eggs.
You might be asking yourself: So what? What's the big deal? Does anyone actually care about the Oxford comma?
You might have a point--but the legal system values the presence of the punctuation in a list or series. Let's have a quick story to demonstrate: A women with three children passed away and left all of earthly possessions to them. Her will stated that the items and money were to be divided between Jane Smith, John Smith and Jack Smith. According to a judge, this did not mean that the possessions should be divided evenly among them. Instead Jane Smith was awarded 50 percent of what once belong to her mother, while Jack and John Smith were forced to split the remaining 50 percent, leaving them each with 25 percent of the inheritance. Due to the lack of an Oxford comma, their sister received double what each of her brothers legally inherited.
Personally, I'm a big fan. I'm absolutely on the side of the judge. I love it. That pause was meant to be there. Commas guide the reader and help appropriately communicate the author's intentions.
Let's not ruin anymore family ties with this punctuation problem.
