Does Your Marketing Agency Debate the Serial Comma?

Although it’s likely not a topic of interest outside the writing professional’s circle — and possibly of waning interest even there — the serial comma and its usage are nevertheless of abiding interest to this long-in-the-tooth copywriter.

Also known as the Oxford comma or Harvard comma, the serial comma is the comma used immediately before a grammatical conjunction that precedes the last item in a list of three or more items. Having started down my career path back in the days when pencil, legal pad, and a copy of Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style were the basic tools of the trade, I’ve undoubtedly passed the millionth serial comma usage milestone several times over.

But, alas, there’s a conspiracy afoot to banish my hard-working little friend. Aided and abetted by the wankers behind The Associated Press Stylebook, the assault on the serial comma extends even into the ranks of the young. One of our interns, an earnest, committed, and eager-to-learn English major, reports that profs at the UNC School of Journalism regularly rail against the serial comma. Although I have no idea why journalists are so repulsed by the diminutive and ever-so-useful character that they’re willing to sacrifice clarity of expression for paucity of punctuation, I’m incensed, outraged, and just plain hopping mad at the blatant abuse of authority teachers of journalism display when dealing with an impressionable audience.

As an integrated agency engaged in both pr and advertising, Koroberi has adopted a schizophrenic policy regarding serial comma usage: press releases, magazine articles, and other material intended for publication toe the AP line (as misguided as I believe it to be) and are produced sans serial comma — albeit reluctantly on my part. But when it comes to everything else, the serial comma reigns supreme, sublime, and, I hope, eternal.

Thanks largely to the infectious influences of mass media, technology-induced shorthand, and a language- and vocabulary-challenged commander in chief, proper grammatical usage is in a state of rapid decline in the USA, with the quality of both spoken and written communication overall becoming ever more abysmal — even among the ranks of so-called professional journalists.

That’s why it’s time for all writers who truly care about their craft to draw a line in the sand, throw down the gauntlet, and confront the enemy in his own backyard. Only by being steadfast, determined, and unwaveringly committed to preserving the sanctity of the serial comma, will we succeed.

3 Comments

1. Let go of the serial comma. / Dec 16, 2008 at 10:32 am

   The serial comma is dead, and it has been for a long time. I cannot, will not and will never use the serial comma. Writing evolves, and the new era of writing is about orderliness, simplicity and no serial comma.

2. Charlene Bassett / Dec 17, 2008 at 5:38 pm

   I agree with you, Chas. I’ve been very upset to watch the serial comma disappear from the writing standards, and refuse to quit using it when writing for myself. However, if a style manual which omits it is desired, I suppose I can get over it. But, in my hearts of hearts, it will always look wrong to have a series of 3 or more items without the comma preceding the conjunction. Thanks for making me feel that I’m not the only one out here who misses that dear, special, and needed item!

3. Ben / Feb 20, 2009 at 2:59 pm

   I have worked as a journalist and a copywriter. The serial comma reminds me of the old man in the bordello in Heller’s Catch-22. When the Nazi’s occupied Italy he was pro-Germany, and then pro-American when they recovered control for the allied forces. He went to both parades, for both armies, and waved both their flags in support, respectively. As a journalist, I turned my nose at the serial comma, and now I embrace it. For the long haul, I think the serial comma should stay in place. If you really want orderliness, I think it is with the usage of a serial comma. With that said, I’ve read articles about using the comma when it removes doubt. My stance is consistency should precede the comma and if you are diehard no serial comma, you are better off never using it.

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