grammar Archives - Washington Square News

Off-Third: Give the Oxford comma a break

One little mark is a helpful, clarifying, and necessary breath of fresh air. Stop getting rid of it.

Matthew Franco, Contributing Writer • April 21, 2022

I know, I’m late to the conversation. It's been years since debating the Oxford comma was quirky, edgy or indicative of genius-level IQ. But WSN gives me an outlet nonetheless,...

Staff Rants and Raves: Language

From the unnecessary and stupid rules to the struggles of learning and speaking, here’s what our staff has to say on languages.

Anna-Dmitry Muratova, Sasha Cohen, Paul Kim, Kim Rice, Arvind Sriram, Helen Wajda, Gabby Lozano and Mandie Montes • February 27, 2020

Rants On Creative Use of Punctuation Anna-Dmitry Muratova, Deputy Managing Editor Dear Creative Writing student, please, pretty please (!), stop NOT putting punctuation...

The Oxford Comma Is a Must

Andrew Heying, Deputy Opinion Editor • March 20, 2017

Recently, neglecting to use the oxford comma has sparked a lawsuit that could end up costing Maine $10 million, proving that the Oxford Comma is absolutely necessary.

Stop Using the Oxford Comma

Emma Rudd, Deputy Opinion Editor • March 20, 2017

The Oxford Comma is an unnecessary embellishment and should only be required when the original message of the text is already ambiguous.