Like many English guideline rules the Oxford Comma has been debated since 1905 when Harous Hart first implemented it. He required all of his staff to use the comma. This then changed the guidelines for the Oxford University Press. 

Oxford Comma originates from the word Koptein, Greek for “to cut off.” The Oxford Comma, very similar to the Serial Comma, is used as a conjunction to separate the items in a list. Many argue that the comma ensures that each item in the list has the same amount of individualism as the rest. 

Who better to ask for opinions on the Oxford Comma than the English teachers at THS? Like the rest of Americans, people use the comma for different reasons or don’t use the comma for other reasons.  

“The Oxford Comma makes total sense to me, especially when listing a set. For example, if I want to talk about grammar, punctuation, and spelling it seems natural to force a pause and punctuated separation between each item in that set, rather than leaving the third hanging on its own. I understand that the “and” provides the pause, but it does not provide the punctuated separation, which allows equal weight to each item in the set.” says Mr. Close 

However, the Oxford comma is only more commonly used in the US than it is in other countries.  “The Oxford comma was started in 1905, and it took decades for it to catch on, but it only did so in the US.  For good reason, the Oxford comma changes the way the serial comma is used, and it’s not needed. A comma conjunction combination is used to join independent clauses only,” says Mrs. Mooney. 

Just because it’s more commonly used in the US does not mean that other countries don’t use it. The United Kingdom uses the Oxford Comma when needed for clarity. For instance, if you were to say “ I like to sing, wear a hat and dance” are you saying you like to wear a hat when dancing, or is there a separation between the two? “There are many instances in which a sentence is not clear without it,” says Mr. Anderson. 

The argument against that would be to just rewrite your sentence. “If you need the Oxford Comma for clarity then your sentence is written poorly, you shouldn’t have to rely on a comma for clarity,” said Mrs Mooney.

 People believe that the comma adds equality to all the items in a list. “I believe that without the Oxford comma, the last two items in a series are more closely associated than the other item(s) in the series. The comma distinguishes each item equally,” says Mr. Watts. 

Many guidelines use the Oxford Comma but those companies tend to be American GrammarlyGrammerly, MLA, and many universities use it. “Use of a serial comma helps prevent syntactic ambiguity. A majority of American style guides recommend using the serial comma,” says Mr. Worely. There are, however, guidelines that don’t use it, for it for instance the AP guideline.  

The Oxford Comma also makes sense to people because it looks nicer to have the comma there. “I’m an Oxford Comma fan because I feel they add style & a smoothness to lists, and they give your audience time to reflect on the information you’re providing them,” says Mr. Rowe. 

Ultimately, the Oxford Comma will probably be debated for another few decades. There is no right or wrong there generally isn’t any rule in using it depending on what company you work at. There is no definite answer on why it was made and if you should use it or not.