Arguments Against The Use Of Comma

People everyday experience confusion as to the meaning of a sentence based upon incorrect comma placement. There was actually a legal case in Maine over the misuse of commas, particularly the Oxford comma (Sullivan). The Oxford comma is the labeled “optional” comma after the last item in a list and before the word “and”. Some people believe that the Oxford comma is unnecessary, but that is simply incorrect. The usage of this particular punctuation is considered optional by many, but given the many instances where not using it would make the sentence’s meaning difficult to understand, it should be enforced in classrooms and workplaces. All of the reasons against using it are trivial and can easily be fixed using alternate approaches. The Oxford comma is correct and should always be used. …show more content…
Refusing to use it would be risking the last two objects being joined together. For example, take the sentence “I went on vacation with my parents, Luke Skywalker, and a giraffe.” If the Oxford comma is used, the sentence would be about a vacation of five people, but if it is not used, the sentence reads, “I went on vacation with my parents, Luke Skywalker and a giraffe.” This implies that Luke Skywalker and the giraffe are my parents and the vacation would only include three people. In addition, you could use the sentence “We went to lunch with the murderers, the Pope, and Michelle Obama.” With the Oxford comma it is perceived how I had intended. Without the Oxford comma it reads “We went to lunch with the murderers, the Pope and Michelle Obama.” This implies that the Pope and Michelle Obama are the murderers, which was unintended. In conclusion, the Oxford comma clears up unintentional conclusion when listing