Serial Comma, Murderer Of Ambiguity

Sat, February 28, 2009 (0 Comments)

As designers, we frequently are responsible for laying out type on a page, or in a headline. Problem is, we frequently are just given copy from an external source, and usually don’t read it all in depth. However, that is not to say that we should be able to proofread everything with 100% accuracy; but rather that when we do write something for ourselves, we should write it correctly. So, in this article, I will explain a little bit about what a serial comma is, and why you should be using it.


Serial commas are, to put it simply, the last comma that shows up when writing a list of items, usually before the use of “and” or “or”. They are frequently said to be “optional” and up to the writers discretion, however, below I will show you just why you should always use them, and why if you do you’ll always be right. To start off, lets look at a basic example of a shopping list both with and without the use of the serial comma:

With a serial comma: Would you please pick up some milk, eggs, and bread.
Without a serial comma: Would you please pick up some milk, eggs and bread.

The argument for not using the serial comma here is that the “and” in that sentence takes the place of the last comma, and therefore the comma is not needed. The argument for using using the serial comma is that it avoids ambiguity between if the last two things should be read together as one, adds a visual break in items, and shows the reader where to pause when reading.

But what if you’re listing compound things? What if your list contained these items:

• red
• blue
• green and orange
• pink and purple
• teal and yellow
  
  

Written with the serial comma, it’d be: Please use the colors red, blue, green and orange, pink and purple, and teal and yellow. Without the serial comma, it’d be: Please use the colors red, blue, green and orange, pink and purple and teal and yellow. Now read those back to yourself. Isn’t it obvious that the top one is more clear? The second option ends with the statement “pink and purple and teal and yellow.” Which is anything but clear as to where the separation goes. Another, more real-life example could be this list of meal options:

• Ham
• Turkey
• Peanut Butter
• Jelly and Toast
  
  

What if you wrote those without a serial comma? Your choices of sandwich are Ham, Turkey, Peanut Butter and Jelly and Toast. Clearly, you’d read the above statement as the following options:

• Ham
• Turkey
• Peanut Butter and Jelly
• Toast
  
  

When the actual options are listed above one list. But if you wrote the list with a serial comma, it becomes obvious which items are in that list: Your choices of sandwich are Ham, Turkey, Peanut Butter, and Jelly and Toast. As you can see, the serial comma may be optional to use, however, it will never be wrong. Whereas the absence of a serial comma could be right, or wrong. So, just ask yourself this: If the choices of what you had to do were something that’s right 50%, and wrong 50% of the time VS. do something that is right 100% of the time.

Which would you choose? Use the serial comma, it shouldn’t be optional.