are oxford commas necessary
This example from the Chicago Manual of Style shows how the comma is necessary for clarity. Without it, she is taking a picture of two people, her mother and father, who are the president and vice president. With it, she is taking a picture of four people. One of the most frequent errors in comma usage is the placement of a comma after a coordinating conjunction. We cannot say that the comma will always come before the conjunction and never after, but it would be a rare event, indeed, that we need to follow a coordinating conjunction with a comma. Using a comma between all the items in a series, including the last two, avoids this problem. This last commathe one between the word and and the preceding wordis often called the serial comma or the Oxford comma. In newspaper writing, incidentally, you will seldom find a serial comma, but that is not necessarily a sign that it should be omitted in academic prose. In most sentences, a because clause is essential to the meaning of the sentence, and it will not be set off with a comma: 1  The Okies had to leave their farms in the midwest because the drought conditions had ruined their farms. It is used less often in British English, but some British style guides require it, including The Oxford Style Manual. According to The Oxford Companion to the English Language, Commas are used to separate items in a list or sequence ... Usage varies as to the inclusion of a comma before and in the last item ... For the song, see Oxford Comma. In English language punctuation, a serial comma or series comma (also called Oxford comma and Harvard comma) is a comma placed immediately before the coordinating conjunction (usually and, or, or nor) in a series of three or more terms. Use a comma to separate the elements in a series (three or more things), including the last two. He hit the ball, dropped the bat, and ran to first base.. You may have learned that the comma before the and is unnecessary, which is fine if you're in control of things. In general, do not use a comma before and or or in a series: The snow stalled cars, buses and trains. Use commas to separate elements in a series, but do not put a comma before the conjunction in a simple series: The flag is red, white and blue. Like us on Facebook. The Oxford comma, so-called because the Oxford University Press style guidelines require it, is the comma before the conjunction at the end of a list. If your preferred style is to omit the second comma in red, white, and blue, you are aligned with the anti-Oxford comma faction. The pro-Oxford comma faction is more vocal and numerous in the US, while in the UK, anti-Oxford comma reigns. (Oxford University is an outsider, style-wise, in its own land.) In the US, book and magazine publishers are generally pro, while newspapers are anti, but both styles can be found in both media. Note that there is generally no comma between the penultimate item and 'and'/'or' – this is sometimes referred to as the 'Oxford comma'. However, it is essential to use an Oxford comma if required to prevent ambiguity: He took French, Spanish, and Maths A-levels. I ate fish and chips, bread and jam, and ice cream.
No, in academic prose.