The battle over the serial comma

Last updated on January 31, 2023

I once had a job interview where I was asked for my position on the serial comma (also known as the Oxford comma). For those who don’t know one comma from another, allow me to explain.

• Serial comma: “I met with Bob, Mary, and Sue.”
• Non-serial comma: “The recipe calls for butter, eggs and flour.”

The Chicago Manual of Style is a stickler for the comma; the AP Stylebook shuns it. While most companies gravitate towards one or the other as the basis for their overall style bible, I’ve found that “house style” can be vastly different than either one. I answered that I deferred to each company’s in-house style guide, because that was the ultimate authority.

“Wrong!” the interviewer shouted — yes, shouted — before launching into a diatribe about how the serial comma (or Oxford comma) is the One True Way; everything else is incorrect.

Actually, no.

As a freelancer, the final approval of my work comes from the client, and each client has its own rules. Some use e-mail, others email. Some refer to Wi-Fi while others use WiFi. My opinions on the topic don’t matter. If I choose the wrong approach, my draft comes back with red ink.

Same with the serial comma. I did a quick analysis of 20 companies that I’ve done work for in the past few years. Only two used the serial comma. At a rate of 10% usage, it’s no wonder that my own personal style has been drifting away from the serial comma.

It’s not that I don’t believe in it; actually, I think that the serial comma often makes things more clear. But when you spend 90% of your time writing to style guides that say otherwise, it’s easy to get out of the habit of using it yourself.

Does your company have a style guide? What does it say?