Writing Tip #21: The Oxford Comma

A writing tip a day every day for 2025

I love the Oxford comma, but I am not a stickler for it. It’s a style choice and can cause confusion almost as often as it alleviates it.

Consider the “classic” example people use to demonstrate the Oxford comma’s efficacy:

We invited the strippers, JFK and Stalin to a party.

Sure, without the Oxford comma you could be confused about how many people were invited to the party or who would be removing their clothing, though that’s unlikely. The Oxford comma does provide immediate clarity.

Consider, however, removing a single letter to the sentence with the Oxford comma in place:

We invited the stripper, JFK, and Stalin to the party.

Suddenly, it seems as though only JFK will be working for tips. The Oxford comma — otherwise known as the serial comma for its abundant use in lists — has introduced new confusion.

While I don’t oppose the implementation of a style guide that requires the Oxford comma, I propose that it’s helpful for writers to consider rewriting their sentences instead.

We invited JFK, Stalin and some strippers to the party.