The Argument for the Oxford Comma

I’m in the middle of a freelance editing job and the argument for/against the Oxford comma rears its ugly head once again. The Oxford comma was first seen in England in 1905 and agreed to by Strunk’s edition of The Elements of Style in 1918. The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) still recommends its use. Some grammarians, however, hold to the AP style book that takes away the last comma in a series of words saying that it’s okay without that comma as long as the writer is consistent throughout and as long as the sentence can be clearly understood. In my quest to settle this in my own mind once and for all, I let Google take me on a search, and I found my question answered by a $10 million court case involving Maine dairy drivers. This is quite an interesting read, so click on the link, sit back, and enjoy. And vow never to discard the Oxford comma again!

Now back to my editing job.