For this second post in our new monthly series, Writing Tip Tuesday, we’ll discuss the Oxford comma, also known as the serial comma. As a publication of the arts, Studio Potter journal adheres to the Chicago Manual of Style, which states about this punctuation: “Chicago strongly recommends this widely practiced usage […] since it prevents ambiguity.” For example:
          "She posted pictures of her pots, the wheel, and the kiln."
By using the serial comma, we know that the author is referring to three separate pictures. If the serial comma is not used...
          "She posted pictures of her pots, the wheel and the kiln."
...it is unclear whether there are three pictures or two--the second possibly being of the wheel and kiln together. If, in fact, two pictures were posted, the sentence should use a second “and,” as follows:
          "She posted pictures of her pots, and the wheel and the kiln."
Check out this TED Ed video about the serial comma:

Thinking of writing for SP? Learn more at: https://studiopotter.org/about/write-sp, and don’t forget to consult your Chicago Manual as you write!