What is an Oxford Comma? - Tips, Rules and Examples

Also referred to as the serial comma, the Oxford comma is known to be one of the most divisive linguistic devices that we use in the English language. We know that there are some rules that are precise and well-defined. For instance, you know when to use an apostrophe and when not to. On the other hand, there are some rules that are not as precise as other rules. Using an Oxford comma is just like the boots of the punctuation world- so people are not always aware when to use them.

So, here the question that arises is what is an Oxford comma and what are the rules that govern them. To answer these questions, we host a steadfast team of experts who are known to bestow students with the best professional writing help in Australia. In this blog, we will satiate all the inquisitive minds and try to answer all the questions that you have regarding the Oxford comma.

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What Is An Oxford Comma? Hear It From Our Professional Writers

If we look at the definition of Oxford Comma as laid down by the Oxford dictionary, it says that “it is a comma that we use after the penultimate item among a list that has three or more items, before, ‘and’, or ‘or’.

Let us clarify this with the help of an example. “Today I went to a concert with Tim, Jack, and Molly”. You might be quite intrigued to know the reason why we have used Jack and Molly. This is the Oxford Comma that shows that all these entities are unique and Molly is an additional member. Without this, the sentence would seem to be messed up.

These are some of the other Oxford comma examples to let you know how the sentences that have this comma look like.

1. She loved to watch movies, gardening, and hanging out with her friends.
2. Before walking out of the house, you have to be sure that you have locked the door, checked the kitchen, and switched off the lights.
3. You must make sure that he doesn’t get to eat peanuts, bread, and watermelon.

It does not have any harm to the sentences. It is just that some people do not like to use it in their work. While some of the journalists restrict themselves from using this as it takes up a lot of space on the page. However, most of the people who use this do it to give vocal preference to the entities.

What Are the Rules Associated with The Oxford Comma?

It is completely up to you whether or not you want to use this comma but there are certain guidelines from our professional writing help experts that will definitely help you gain clarity on this.

Before you decide to incorporate the oxford comma in your work, make sure you know these guidelines well.

1. If you are planning to work on a technical or scientific manual, then you must make it mandatory to use the Oxford comma.
2. It resolves ambiguity and also does a lot to match the cadence of spoken English
3. We should not use it where we can see how unnecessary it becomes to add space to the given text.
4. The style guides of the Canadian Press, the New York Times, etc do not use the Oxford comma
5. Strunk and White’s Elements of Style, The Chicago Manual of Style state that it is fine to use the Oxford comma.

In general, it is observed that it is often used within the academic circles of Australia, Canada, and South Africa. By now, you might have understood the rules that govern the use of the Oxford Comma. Our professional writing help experts have handled a number of assignments where they have guided students on using this effectively. You can contact us now via our interactive live one-on-one sessions to get instant guidance from us on any of your queries sitting right at your homes. We will do our best to equip you with the answers that you need from us immediately. Let us now give you some of the reference assignment solutions that we have curated for students using the Oxford Comma so that you understand it better.

How to Use the Oxford Comma In The Paragraphs?

In the image below, you can see so many sentences that have this serious comma used in them. With the help of this excerpt, you will get a clear picture of how to use Oxford commas.

This is just one of the examples from the assignments that we have approached for the reference purpose of students. Similarly, let us look at the below example again.

Even in this example, you will get a clear idea of how Oxford commas are used in different academic assignments. So, if you get stuck at any of your assignments, then you can simply talk to our professional writing help expert team right away. We promise to never leave any of your queries unanswered from our end. This is how we have become the best assignment helpers in Australia.

Still, Perplexed About How To Use Oxford Commas In Your Work? Get Instant Tips And Tricks From Our Bonafide Writers

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