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All about the Oxford comma, including when it may or may not be necessary.
The serial comma (also referred to as the series comma, Oxford comma, [1] or Harvard comma [2]) is a comma placed after the second-to-last term in a list (just before the conjunction) when writing out three or more terms.
Some people use the Oxford comma (also known as the Harvard or serial comma). This is a comma before "and" or "or" at the end of a series, regardless of whether it is needed for clarification purposes. For example: X, Y, and Z (with an Oxford comma) X, Y and Z (without an Oxford comma)
If a non-quoted but otherwise identical construction would work grammatically without a comma, using a comma before a quotation embedded within a sentence is optional: The report stated "There was a 45% reduction in transmission rate." (Cf. the non-quotation The report stated there was a 45% reduction in transmission rate.)
Although less common in British English, its usage occurs within both American and British English. It is called the Oxford comma because of its long history of use by Oxford University Press. [8] According to New Hart's Rules, "house style will dictate" whether to use the serial comma. "The general rule is that one style or the other should be ...
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