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Snarf Posted 14 years ago
Letter Writing
Feeling the Pause of the Serial Comma
Hello. I was wondering something regarding the Oxford or serial comma. If a writer uses it once, does he have to use it every time, and if he does not use it once, does that mean that for the rest of the given essay, piece or book, he is not to use it again? Does it make sense to put it in based on whether the writer feels a pause there or not, or is that kind of inconsistency bad?
Thanks.
Thanks.
Top answer
Always use it or never use it within a work, except on the rare occasions when its presence or absence causes ambiguity. Use a comma to indicate a "pause" only in casual writing, poetry, fiction, and the like, but be aware that if the serial comma pops up and disappears at your whim, the reader will be distracted by it, which is a Bad Thing.
- Always use it or never use it within a work, except on the rare occasions when its presence or absence causes ambiguity.
- Use a comma to indicate a "pause" only in casual writing, poetry, fiction, and the like, but be aware that if the serial comma pops up and disappears at your whim, the reader will be distracted by it, which is a Bad Thing.
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1 Answers
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Always use it or never use it within a work, except on the rare occasions when its presence or absence causes ambiguity. Use a comma to indicate a "pause" only in casual writing, poetry, fiction, and the like, but be aware that if the serial comma pops up and disappears at your whim, the reader will be distracted by it, which is a Bad Thing.
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