In my youth, I had a strong passion for grammar. Now, in my slightly older youth, I still love grammar. It's something I'm naturally good at (although I'm not always perfect in my use of it) and something that I've studied extensively. I'm the kind of person that flips through The Elements of Style when I'm bored. That doesn't mean that I stop talking to my friends when they make a mistake or that I yell at random strangers on the street when they use "I" as the object of a preposition. That does mean, however, that I proofread my family's and friend's formal e-mails, job applications, etc. That also means that I know that there is a fair amount of dispute regarding use or lack thereof of something called the Oxford comma.
For those who don't know, the Oxford comma is the comma used before the conjunction (either "and" or "or") in a list of three or more things. For example, if someone were to say "I like ice cream, salad, and breadsticks," the comma after "salad" would be the Oxford comma. However, various people argue about whether to use the Oxford comma or not. For example, The Elements of Style says to use it while the AP Stylebook says not to. Generally, those who use it claim that it's to avoid ambiguity or misreading.
I'm here to tell you that the Oxford comma is unnecessary.
A lot of people like to give examples such as, "I'll bring my parents, Spiderman and Batman" and say that the omission of the Oxford comma gives the reader the impression that whoever "I" is is the son or daughter of Spiderman and Batman. Rearranging the sentence easily fixes the problem. "I'll bring Spiderman, my parents and Batman." If you really feel compelled to keep the two superheroes together, then say, "I'll bring Spiderman, Batman and my parents," and if you're angry that Batman isn't listed first because he's obviously better than Spiderman, say "I'll bring Batman, Spiderman and my parents" instead.
Of course, if you're like me, and you have to adhere to MLA style in most of your papers, feel free to generate lists of three or more items and use that comma all you want. But if you're going to assert that the Oxford comma is genuinely needed, be prepared to show me examples that I can't correct to make it unneeded.
