To comma or not

When making a list of items, a writer often uses the words “and” and “or” (conjunctions) before the last item in the list. No problems there. The debate comes with the placement of the final comma. Some Grammarians prefer two commas in a list of three items (for example); some prefer only one. The newer Grammarians seem to prefer the single comma. Example: fish, frogs, and fronds  vs.   fish, frogs and fronds The argument for a single comma is that the comma is used to replace the conjunction and is therefore redundant. You could write the above list as “fish and frogs and fronds,” but that can be a little too wordy for the reader. So instead we write “fish, frogs and fronds,” replacing the first “and” with a comma. We could write “fish, frogs, fronds,” but that doesn’t always read nicely. If you’re writing for a teacher or publication editor, you’ll need to find out that Grammarian’s preference. If you’re writing for your own amusement, pick the style you like best and stick with it.

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Overuse of “I”

When writing a paper in first person, it can be very easy to use the word “I” far too often. The paper will clearly be written from the author’s perspective, but the reader does not want to be overwhelmed with references to the author. The biggest problem is starting sentences with “I (insert verb or verb phrase).” Try doing a word search on your first-person paper. (In Word, go to Edit>Find.) If you find more than two sentences in a row with the same start, try to change one of them. Your reader will appreciate it.

If this article has helped you, or if you have other questions about this topic, please let me know. Thanks!