Observations About the Oxford Comma, an article written by John Hightower of Communications Skills Company. The so-called Oxford comma is the comma used before and (or other conjunctions) in a series of three or more items, as in "The flag is red, white, and blue." The Associated Press and most newspapers omit the comma before and.
Links to Other Web Pages With Guidance About Punctuation
- Error Checklist. This list is not restricted to errors in punctuation, but we have included it on this page because it begins with such errors.
- Daily Writing Tips. Advice about punctuation.
- Punctuation Underdog, with links to other resources.
- Capitalization, including a discussion of the phenomenon of overcapitalization.
- Punctuation, excerpt from “The Complete Plain Words,” by Ernest Gowers.
- Various articles about punctuation marks and other writing issues.
- Philosophy of Punctuation.
- Comma Mistakes.
For those who are interested in the history of punctuation,, we recommend the following books (accessible without charge):
- Why We Punctuate: Or, Reason Versus Rule in the Use of Marks, William Livingston Klein (1916).
- Why We Punctuate, Or, Reason Vs. Rule in the Use of Marks, William Livingston Klein (1896). This is an earlier edition of the previous book and does contain some different observations that may be enlightening.
- Punctuation and the Use of Capital Letters, John S. Hart (1886).
- Punctuation, Its principles and Practice, T. F. Husband and M. F. A. Husband (1905).
- A Treatise on English Punctuation (with an appendix, containing rules on the use of capitals, a list of abbreviations, hints on the preparation of copy and on proof-reading, specimen of proof-sheet, etc.), 3rd edition, John Wilson (1855). There were at least 13 editions of this book.
Although the following modern punctuation references are not free, we highly recommend them:
- Punctuation at Work: Simple Principles for Achieving Clarity and Good Style, Richard Lauchman (2010).
- Gregg Reference Manual, 11th edition, William Sabin (2010). This book is not limited to the issue of punctuation, but is a comprehensive work on punctuation, capitalization, grammar, usage, style, document formats, and various related issue.