If you’re like the other students that I surveyed recently, you may be under the impression that a comma is not a very important part of an English proficiency test.
You were probably taught – as some of the other students were – that commas and punctuation marks are of secondary importance on the “first draft” of a long-form essay. The words “first draft” were interpreted by students to mean just “getting their ideas down on paper”. Many students commented that TOEFL or IELTS examiners were not really expecting a polished piece of writing in 30 or 40 minutes.
While it is true that 30 or 40 minutes may not be nearly enough time to produce a polished product, students should not underestimate the importance of a comma.
This slightly-curved squiggle (,) that appears on the baseline of text has many important functions.
In fact, just last month, the omission of the Oxford comma cost a dairy company in the United States $5 million dollars.
That’s right, you read that correctly – $5 million dollars (U.S).
What is the Oxford comma?
The Oxford comma is also referred to as the “serial comma”. It is the final comma before the coordinating conjunction (usually “and”, “or”, “but”) in a list of three or more things.
Consider this sentence:
I travelled to Toronto with Natalie, a friend, and a doctor.
With the comma between the word “friend” and “and”, the sentence means that you travelled with three separate people: (1) Natalie, (2) a friend, (3) a doctor.
Without the comma between the word “friend” and “and”, the sentence means that you travelled with one person (Natalie) who happens to be both a friend and a doctor.
The words “a friend and doctor” act as an appositive (a reduced adjective clause) which gives us more information about Natalie.
If a writer misuses or misunderstands the Oxford comma, a completely different meaning will be communicated to the reader.
The presence or the absence of a little comma matters a great deal in this example.
What lessons can we learn about the Oxford comma?
Now, let’s turn our attention to the $5 million-dollar comma mistake that I mentioned earlier.
Several years ago, the owners of the Oakhurst Dairy Company located in Portland, Maine denied their truck drivers overtime pay.
The owners argued that, according to the laws of the State of Maine, overtime pay did not apply to the following:
“The canning, processing, preserving, freezing, drying, marketing, storing, packing for shipment or distribution of:
(1) agricultural produce; (2) meat and fish products; and (3) perishable foods.”
[Notice: there is no Oxford comma before the coordinating conjunction “or”]
Three truck drivers filed a class-action lawsuit, suing the Oakhurst Dairy Company for overtime pay. The drivers argued that they delivered (or distributed) perishable foods, but they did not pack the boxes themselves.
The missing Oxford comma separating shipment and distribution created ambiguity in the intent of the law.
The court sided with the drivers on February 8, 2018.
The court ruled that it was not clear if the law exempted the distribution of agricultural produce, meat and fish and perishable foods or if it exempted “packing for” the shipment.
Oakhurst Dairy Company was ordered to pay $5 million dollars (U.S.) in unpaid overtime to 75 truck drivers who would share the total amount.
Commas & English Tests
While it is true that – in most cases – one or two missing commas on your IELTS or TOEFL long-form essay (or the unnecessary addition of one or two commas) should not impact your final writing score as much as more serious grammatical errors, it is important for every learner to realize that all punctuation marks, including the Oxford comma and other types of commas, have important functions.
It seems to me that several learners preparing for English proficiency tests are under the impression that commas are not very important.
This is simply untrue.
Commas are designed to add clarity, rhythm and organization to your essays. Commas also have the power to change the meaning of a sentence.
Use them thoughtfully and cautiously.
