Serial Commas and Compulsive Behavior
Academics and journalists duke it out when it comes to using serial commas in sentences.
Serial commas (aka the Oxford comma and the Harvard Comma)
…come before conjunctions (most often before and, or)
…when used in a series (or list) of three or more words, phrases, or clauses in sentences.
What are the colors in the American flag? The academics write it this way:
The American flag is red, white, and blue. (with serial comma)
The journalists (along with the Brits and Aussies) favor this writing:
The British flag is red, white and blue. (without serial comma)
The Battleground
Turns out there is a long history of wordy disputes between these two deeply-rooted warring camps. Lynn Truss, a Brit and author of Eats, Shoots & Leaves, traces the conflict back hundreds of years and advises,
Never make the mistake of getting between these two groups, especially when the…
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Punctuation is a down fall for me.
No problem. Just keep at it, or have someone else check your punctuation. The important thing is to keep writing.