What difference does it make if you forget an oxford comma or two? Who cares if an extra comma is missing here or a couple more there? Sentences are just sentences, and those pesky little pieces of punctuation can’t be that important…can they?

They can, and they are—as a Maine dairy company sorely found out in 2018. Thanks to the absence of one little comma in the wording of overtime laws, Oakhurst Dairy was forced to award a whopping $5 million (million with a capital ‘M’) to its grammar-obsessed dairy drivers as backlogged compensation. 

It all started in 2014 when the drivers filed a legen-dairy lawsuit seeking more than $10 million. After years of back-and-forth and some bitter exchanges in between, a federal court in Maine decided to keep the lawsuit alive in 2017. The truck drivers argued that they indeed deserved extra compensation because a Maine law elaborating on overtime exemptions did not include an Oxford comma. 

The sentence at the heart of the well-publicized, multi-million suit referred to a portion of the law that says:

“The canning, processing, preserving, freezing, drying, marketing, storing, packing for shipment or distribution of:

• Agricultural produce
• Meat and fish products
• Perishable foods

Upon closer inspection, you’ll notice a comma is blatantly missing between “packing for shipment” and “distribution.” Without it, it’s not instantly clear whether the law exempted distribution or just packing for distribution. The drivers argued that the whole section was vague, and since they didn’t actually do any packing, they shouldn’t have been exempted from overtime pay. Fast forward to four years later and their argument was fully manifested, in what is possibly the most expensive grammar-related case of all time. All thanks to a little pesky punctuation mark, or lack thereof.
 

As staunch proponents of excellent grammar, we feel it’s high time we explored this hotly contested issue. So pull out your pens and open your books to page 10—today’s lesson is a content marketer’s take on the Oxford comma.
 

The $5 Million Punctuation Mark: What’s the Oxford Comma Anyway?
 

Well, appropriately enough, the Oxford Dictionary has the clearest definition of the Oxford comma that you’ll ever come across online. It’s simply the squiggly little dot that goes before “or” or “and” in a list of three of more items. 

For example, the Oxford sentence falls after “England” in this sentence:

“I invited the acrobats, the Queen of England, and President Obama to a party.”
 

Makes sense? If not, your English teacher owes you a refund ASAP!
 

Also known as the serial comma or the Harvard comma, the Oxford comma earned its rather unique name from decades of rare, old-fashioned usage by printers, editors, and readers at the Oxford University Press. 

So, What’s the Big Deal About It? The Case for the Oxford Comma
 

Ask any grammar nerd out there and they’ll confidently tell you that the comma in question is an indispensable part of any style of writing today. 

These “nerds” spend countless hours on social media passionately advocating for the serial comma, sprinkle it in almost every deserving sentence, and defend its use almost militantly—and it’s all because of two reasons:

1. It Brings Clarity to Otherwise Vague Sentences

As examples like the one above depict, serial commas play a vital role in providing linguistic clarity. The serial comma between “England” and “and” makes the reader immediately aware that President Obama and the Queen of England won’t be acrobats at the event (that’d be hilarious, though).

Still skeptical about the clarifying prowess of this little dot? Consider another example: “I love my parents, Humpty Dumpty, and Lady Gaga.” 
 

Without the serial comma, the sentence could be interpreted as saying that Humpty Dumpty and Lady Gaga are your parents. However, including it instantly establishes the characters as three independent characters that are unrelated whatsoever. So, why does its clarity-oriented usage still up for debate and sparking outrage online?

It’s probably because the Oxford style manual itself doesn’t hold the comma in high regard. As in, it restricts the serial comma’s usage to when a reader risks misinterpreting a sentence without it (this naturally extends to the British style guides as well). Other style manuals that tend to sweep the serial comma’s importance under the carpet include the Canadian style and the AP style.
 

However, most style guides across the world embrace the humble serial comma in all its entirety. The American Medical Association (AMA), American Psychological Association (APA), and the Chicago Manual of Style, the Journalistic Style, as well as other American style guides recognize that we’d all be swimming in a sea of potential ambiguity if it weren’t for this awesome piece of punctuation.
 

You might think we’re nitpicking here, but the truth is that clarity is super important. In marketing, like in law, it’s crucial to ensure the reader isn’t left “reading between the lines” or in a murk of confusion. For business owners like yourself, the potential ambiguity that a missing comma brings might not cost you $5 million. But it sure like hell will cost you time, clarity, and reputation.

2. It Infuses Little Beautiful Pauses into Your Writing

The thing about today’s readers is that their attention spans are less than that of a goldfish. One comma-inducing sentence in your intro is enough to get them scrambling over to your competitor’s blog. 
 

Now more than ever, your sentences need to be natural and easier to read. They need to communicate clearly and concisely without leaving readers biting their nails wondering what the heck you meant. Thankfully, that’s something you’ll never have to worry about once you start using the Oxford comma in your writing.
 

Consider how you would say the phrase “let’s eat, grandma” out loud. Naturally, you will be inclined to leave a slight pause between “eat” and “grandma” to stress the separateness of the two words. 

Source: Writer’s Community 

In a written sentence, such pauses are often replicated in the form of an Oxford comma. This humble punctuation mark sends a message to your brain about how the sentence should be read. Without even noticing it, you read the phrase exactly as the author intended, with the same emphasis and pause, and with the meaning intact (the difference is important, unless you want to insinuate that the eating involved is of the cannibalistic variety).
 

Must You Use It, Though?
 

Well, that boils down to personal preference. 
 

If you’re able to articulate your marketing copy clearly without it, well and good (few have been able to achieve that, though). 

However, if you appreciate its clarifying capabilities and the way it mimics the natural rhythm of speech, then your copy is better off with it.
 

And once you go big on this punctuation, you’ll immediately realize that they’re more folks like you who appreciate simple, beautiful, impactful writing. A 2014 poll established that at least 57% of Americans are diehard Oxford comma fans. Five bucks, this percentage has definitely hiked as we speak.
 

So, yes, you should start using the famed Oxford comma as soon as yesterday. If not for the need to fit in, at least do it for the clarity of your brand copy.

When You Should Use It: 3 Use Cases for the Famous Serial Comma
 

At this point in the blog, one thing is undoubtedly clear: the Oxford comma brings clarity and finesse where other punctuation marks and the human mind fall flat. 
 

Admittedly, using it is not always easy, but with these three use cases, you’ll at least know where to start.
 

• Insert it before coordinating conjunctions that link independent clauses (The sentence, “I stayed home all day, and met President Biden” would sound like nuts without a comma).
• Use it to streamline long, sophisticated lists (The ones that leave you gasping for air midway).
• Clarity, clarity, clarity! (We can’t possibly emphasize this enough)

P.S: Only avoid the serial comma when the last element in a list requires a single conjunction (adding a comma in the sentence, “I ate rice, chicken and salad for dinner” would totally throw off its meaning).

Oxford Comma Experts, Without the 5-Million-Dollar Tag
 

The Oxford comma might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s definitely our breakfast, lunch, dinner, and everything in between (see what we did there? Wink!)
 

Lest you forget, lack of an Oxford comma cost Oakhurst Dairy a whopping $5 million in compensation. This figure might sound like the stuff of dreams until it happens to you. As the famous adage goes, better safe than sorry.

So, once again, who should care about the serial comma? The answer is clear as milk (got it? Because the case involved a dairy company?): anyone who cares about clarity. Take that AP style!

Looking for a content marketing agency that love, love, love using the million-dollar comma like it’s actually worth five million bucks? Zoey is the name, and writing splendidly clear copy is our game. To learn more about our copywriting services, hop on a call with us today! 

More Guides to Make Your Writing Superb:

• Forty or Fourty: Spell It Right Like the Guru You Are 
• A Guide on How to Use a Semicolon with Examples
• How to Stop the Scroll by Writing Engaging Social Media Posts 
• That Vs. Which: Inject Clarity Into Your Sentences (zoeywriters.com)

Photo by Василь Вовк. Thank you Василь!