Eva Iofe Week 1 -- Oxford Commas.
Why Using Oxford Commas is Good for You
While often overlooked, the Oxford comma is a very useful tool in providing clarity to a sentence. While it may seem like a hassle to use at first, once you get into the habit, the Oxford comma will make your writing more consistent, and clear, and look better than sentences without one.
As I already said, Oxford commas help prevent vagueness and uncertainty in someone's writing. For example, saying 'I eat salad, hard-boiled eggs, and maple syrup for lunch every day!' with the Oxford comma makes it much less horrifying than its Oxford comma-less counterpart: 'I eat salad, hard-boiled eggs and maple syrup for lunch every day!.' ...What an appetite this person has…
Unfortunately, Oxford commas are not required by grammatical rules, in America or Britain, at least, but I believe that they should be. The Oxford comma also helps create a more distinct writing voice; since many people find it stuffy or pretentious, writing with it should stand out more, both in organization and in quality.
Oxford commas also have other cool names they go by. Also known as a serial comma or the Harvard comma, why wouldn’t someone want to use it? The comma was named after not one, but two prestigious universities (whose style–guides,
ways to reference different sources within an essay, both require its use)!
TLDR; using Oxford commas is a much more sophisticated way of writing, though unfortunately, it is not grammatically incorrect to not use it in most settings.
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My stance on the oxford comma is that it is unnecessary. Any person who says 'well it improves clarity', could just reword their sentence in a way that makes it easier to understand. I can see why people use it and I don't care either way it changes for me depending on how I feel. But use it or don't, its not necessary.
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