How to Avoid Using Serial Commas in Your Writing
As weeks went by her words began to eat at my self confidence. I'm always open to and gracefully accept constructive criticism and I know my grammar and punctuation isn't always perfect but my gut told me I was right in this case. I let her words get the best of me and I began peppering my sentences with what I call serial commas. While writing or re-editing my work I felt like a flower girl walking down the aisle of a wedding, sprinkling proverbial rose petals throughout my sentences. I felt dirty.
Irritated by my nagging inner voice, I dug out my copy of the Chicago Manual of Style and confirmed that her very sentence criticizing my comma usage was guilty of what I call the serial comma syndrome. Writers don't have to add a comma before every but, and or as, as well as lists using the conjunction or and compound predicate sentences just to name a few. Breaking up a sentence with a comma is a no-no as well unless avoiding a break will cause confusion in the sentence. It is called a contemporary "open style" of punctuation by the Chicago Manual of Style and the manual prefers this open style to what I call the serial comma.
Here are two examples taken directly from the manual:
1. "Baum attended the lecture not so much to hear what Morgan had to say as to observe the reaction by the audience."
2. "Fournier had been appointed to the committee not only because of his experience but also because of an alliance he had formed with the chairman's cousin."
According to the forum member's suggestion as well as the use of commas within her suggestion, I'm guessing she would have placed about two commas in each of the above sentences, as would many other writers. The manual contains many more examples of when to avoid commas.
The Chicago Manual of Style has been touted around by writers for many years and is the preferred model of grammar and punctuation for many publishers and editors. Every writer, no matter how old or how accomplished, should have this style reference on his or her desk for quick reference.
Her constructive criticism, although incorrect, was helpful because it gave me a reason to freshen up on the basics of writing, something I've been meaning to do for a while.
Published by Alicia White
Alicia is a former air traffic controller who lived in Japan for several years. She's currently a freelance writer in California, and a full-time student majoring in digital media/graphic design. View profile
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9 Comments
Post a CommentI won't chastise you as much as the others on here, since I know my own grammar is sometimes lacking. However, they are correct in most of what they say. The 15th edition of Chicago makes this statement concerning the serial comma: "Chicago strongly recommends this widely practiced usage, blessed by Fowler and other authorities." Furthermore, there is nothing wrong with a comma being used properly elsewhere, no matter how many there seem to be. That's not to say there is something wrong with it being left out in many cases; but you certainly want to give your readers a break here and there in a long, winding sentence.
After a thorough perusal of the comments below, Alicia, I can only conclude that you started a battle of wits while completely unarmed. You seem to have written this article entirely to show up someone who was standing on firm ground when she corrected you and from whose tutelage you might benefit when you become teachable.
You have demonstrated quite clearly and with abundant evidence that you are a complete idiot and a lazy writer. By the way, that was an ad hominem attack.
I saw this on Spark Notes when I looked up some information on serial commas. I think this really captures the importance of serial commas in maintaining clarity. There are some situations where omitting the serial comma would cause confusion (e.g. are there 2 groups or 3?), and instead of using the serial comma only in those cases, why not just avoid the whole mess and be consistent?
serial comma: Today we learned about bug bites, poison ivy, and rashes.
without serial comma: Today we learned about bug bites, poison ivy and rashes.
We at SparkNotes are advocates of the serial comma. We think it makes prose clearer and more readable—which is, after all, the point of punctuation. And it resolves potential ambiguities in such phrases as "The author would like to thank her parents, Jesus and Mrs. Chin."
The newer "open" style for comma usage still respects some traditional rules of grammar, and I'm sure Chicago would not intend for its advice to eschew those rules. In your argument, you've missed some important distinctions in the various examples posted. Note that in the two examples from Chicago 14, the sentences are not compound sentences; each has a complicated parallel structure, but there is only one subject. Consequently, no commas. I suspect that your comma-loving critic would not choose to put commas in either of those examples. In her sentence, however, the commas are very judiciously placed: "BTW, your articles are very good, but you might want to revisit the use of commas, as you are lacking quite a few." While the first could be removed according to open style, the second, which separates two independent clauses, should remain. I would also argue for retaining the third, since the dependent clause that follows is is non-binding.
You're right, I do have the 14th Edition. When I used the term "serial commas" in my title, I wasn't thinking about lists, I was thinking serial as in serial killer haha. I'll have to pick up the 15th Edition. I've been using mine for a few years now. The 14th Edition went on and on about open-style commas. The sentences you brought up were valid according to the 14th edition, and it has nothing to do with the open-style in that case. I see what you mean though.
You're right - For comma snobs like me, there is a fine line between correct comma usage and under-doing it. I can't wait to see what the 15th edition has to offer. :) Thanks for the criticisms - they are always welcome!
Your sentence would be improved by the following edits: I'm always open to and gracefully accept constructive criticism. I know my grammar and punctuation aren't always perfect, but my gut told me I was right in this case.
you don't want your readers to have trouble parsing them just because you're reluctant to use commas (or other internal punctuation such as dashes).
If you look at the two examples you quote from Chicago (and yours must be an older edition, not the current 15th edition published in 2003-the current edition doesn't reference open style comma use), you'll see that neither one contains an independent clause (one that could stand alone in a separate sentence). Your sentence actually has three independent clauses: (1) "I'm always open to and gratefully accept constructive criticism; (2) I know my grammar and punctuation isn't [this should be "aren't"; it refers to two things: grammar and punctuation] always perfect; and (3) my gut told me I was right in this case.
...Chicago very definitely recommends using commas between independent clauses unless they are very short and closely related (such as "My cat was hungry so I fed him").
Your sentence would be improved by the following e
I thought you might appreciate (or not!) a couple of tiny bits of advice that might help you satisfy your inner comma demon and your older (and younger) readers. First, since the term "serial comma" has a specific meaning to professional writers and editors (serial commas are the commas used in inline lists such as apples, bananas, and pears) and you're using the term in a completely different way, you might want to choose a different name for comma abuse so that you don't confuse the issue.
Second, the following sentence of yours actually does suffer from a lack of commas because you have three "ands" and one "but" strung together with no punctuation at all, no doubt causing some readers to lose track of the point you're trying to make. Here's your sentence: "I'm always open to and gracefully accept constructive criticism and I know my grammar and punctuation isn't always perfect but my gut told me I was right in this case." I commend you for trying to clean up your sentences, but