Category: Author Answers

The next Author’s Answers is up with this topic that shouldn’t be controversial, but somehow still is.

Question 132: Do you use the Oxford comma? Why or why not? Give your own example where you would need to use the Oxford comma.

Yes, yes I do. I use it because it is the only way to write clearly and be understood. Those who do not use it will be misunderstood, misread, and the subject of schadenfreude. Note the use in the previous sentence.

You can find the rest of the questions, and other author’s answers, here: I Read Encyclopedias for Fun

Brother Thomas, editor extraordinaire, has this to say on the subject:

Beyond the Oxford Comma

Just a little post today, don’t want to spoil everyone. For a little over a year now, I’ve been a regular contributor Jay Dee Archer’s Author’s Questions, which is a series of questions asked to many different authors. Most of the questions are about writing, at least to some degree.

Once a week, I’ll post my answer here and link to the rest. I hope you enjoy reading the others as much as I have. In any case here is the most recent question, and my answer.

Question: Which rule(s) of English grammar do you find most difficult?

English was not the first language I learned, and so I sometimes have some trouble with word order. As a follower of the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis, I am a living example of how language shapes the brain. My first language was ASL (American Sign Language) and so I think kinetically.

You can find the rest of the questions, and other author’s answers, here: I Read Encyclopedias for Fun