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Re: Items in a Series and Comma Use?

Subject: Re: Items in a Series and Comma Use?
From: John Bartol <johnbartol -at- shaw -dot- ca>
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Date: Mon, 30 Jan 2006 08:56:31 -0800

You know, Al, I agree with you about this and the other examples to which you replied. According to the 'rules', there should be no confusion as to the intent of the sentences.

But...

It's a simple fact that people in general do not always know all of the rules. The use of the final comma, while redundant when following the traditional rule, serves to eliminate confusion over the intent of the sentence.

Personally, I use the final comma if it makes the sentence more understandable; sometimes I just reorganize the sentence... it depends on the subject matter, the audience, and (if it exists) the style guide. The important thing for me is to ensure that there is *no* potential for confusion in the final product -- that's what really matters in the final analysis.

Al Geist wrote:

Julie Stickler wrote:

The best argument I heard for including the final comma was a story
told by an instructor I had when I was getting my techical writing
certificate. She frequently would end up with an extra drink when the
menu said that the meal came with "cofee, tea or juice." because she
would point out to the management that the way the menu was punctuated
indicated to her that the meal came with a "coffee" and "tea or juice"
(rather than a single drink).
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I read the sentence as coffee or tea or juice....your choice of one from the three. If she frequently ended up with an extra drink, then the problem was with her and not the sentence.



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Follow-Ups:

References:
Items in a Series and Comma Use?: From: Geoff Hart
Re: Items in a Series and Comma Use?: From: Sankara R
Re: Items in a Series and Comma Use?: From: Julie Stickler
Re: Items in a Series and Comma Use?: From: Al Geist

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