Stylish

In a humorous piece for the New Yorker, Danielle Kraese wrote, "[I] know what an Oxford comma is, and [I] have a strong opinion about it that [I]'ll share with just about anyone." ("Excerpts from a Posting for My Ideal Job," February 26, 2024.)

This does not describe me, though it does describe a lot of my friends. They believe that using (or not using) the Oxford comma is a moral matter. It is not. It is a question of style.

The Oxford comma is so called because it is required for books published by Oxford University Press. Under its more generic name, the serial comma, it is also required for APA and Chicago style, but not for AP style. Lawyers do not use serial commas. I prefer to use it, but that’s just my style—just as a long dash without a space on either side is my style, Chicago style, but not AP style.