The Serial Comma is OK with Me

The Serial Comma is OK with Me The Serial Comma is OK with Me The Serial Comma is OK with Me By Maeve Maddox After a lifetime of being wishy-washy about the serial comma, I’ve reached a decision: I’m going to use it all the time. Such a momentous decision is, of course, a deeply personal matter. The pros and cons are widely, frequently, and hotly debated. Here is some information that may enable you to make the decision for yourself, if you haven’t already done so. serial comma: (also Oxford comma) n. a comma used after the penultimate item in a list of three or more items, before and or or (e.g. an Italian painter, sculptor, and architect). Penguin Writer’s Manual. Oxford comma: n. [after the preferred use of such a comma to avoid ambiguity in the house style of Oxford University Press] a comma immediately preceding the conjunction in a list of items. OED Some writers call the Oxford comma the â€Å"Harvard comma.† Heres a sentence with a serial comma: The Three Stooges are Larry, Moe, and Curly. Here it is without a serial comma: The Three Stooges are Larry, Moe and Curly. PRO serial comma The Chicago Manual of Style (2009) When a conjunction joins the last two elements in a series, a comma- known as the serial or series comma or the Oxford comma- should appear before the conjunction. Chicago strongly recommends this widely practiced usage, blessed by Fowler and other authorities 6.19 The Elements of Style (2000) In a series of three or more terms with a single conjunction, use a comma after each term except the last. The stated rule seems ambiguous to me, but the examples that follow it are clear: red, white, and blue gold, silver, or copper Gregg Reference Manual (1993) When three or more items are listed in a series, and the last item is preceded by and, or, or nor, place a comma before the conjunction as well as between the other items. CON serial comma   AP Stylebook (2009) Use commas to separate elements in a series, but do not put a comma before the conjunction in a simple series: The flag is red, white and blue. He would nominate Tom, Dick or Harry. AP does allow a comma before and when ambiguity would result without one: Put a comma before the concluding conjunction in a series, however, if an integral element of the series requires a conjunction: I had orange juice, toast, and ham and eggs for breakfast. Penguin Guide to Punctuation (1997) Note also that it is not usual in British usage to put a listing comma before the word and or or itself (though American usage regularly puts one there.) So, in British usage, it is not usual to write The Three Musketeers were Athos, Porthos, and Aramis. On the fence regarding the serial comma Penguin Writer’s Manual (2002) It is becoming more common in British English (and is usual in American English) to place a comma before the and that precedes the final item in a simple list (numbers one, two, three, and four). Fowler’s Modern English Usage (1965) In promoting the use of the serial comma, CMOS observes that the usage is â€Å"blessed by Fowler† among other authorities. However, when I looked up the topic in Fowler (1965 edition) I found this remark, which seems neutral at best: The more usual way of punctuating such an enumeration as was used as an example in the preceding section is French, German, Italian and Spanish; the commas between French and German and German and Italian take the place of ands; there is no comma after Italian because, with and, it would be otiose [having no practical function; redundant; superfluous]. There are, however, some who favour putting one there, arguing that, since it may sometimes be needed to avoid ambiguity it may as well be used always for the sake of uniformity. So there you have it. My choice is to travel the path of otiosity for the sake of uniformity. What’s yours? Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Apply to, Apply for, and Apply withComma Before ButWhile vs. Whilst

AP Statistics Scores - Learn What You Need for College

AP Statistics Scores - Learn What You Need for College Statistics is a popular Advanced Placement course with over 200,000 students taking the exam annually. Students who have other options and interests, however, should be aware that AP Statistics is accepted for course credit and placement by fewer colleges than many other AP subjects.   About the AP Statistics Course and Exam The Advanced Placement Statistics course is a non-calculus-based course that is the equivalent of many one-semester, introductory college statistics classes. The exam covers  exploring data, sampling and experimentation, anticipating patterns, and statistical inference. Each of these topics encompasses several subtopics: Exploring Data. Students learn to analyze different types of graphs and data displays. Key topics include spread, outliers, median, mean, standard deviation, quartiles, percentages, and more. Students also learn to compare different data sets to find patterns and draw conclusions. This section encompasses 20 to 30 percent of the exam questions.Sampling and Experimentation. Students learn about proper and effective methods of data collection and data analysis. Students learn about the characteristics of well-conducted surveys, and they learn about the issues attached to different types of populations and selection methods. Important topics include random sampling, control groups, placebo effect, and replication. This section accounts for 10 to 15 percent of the exam.Anticipating Patterns. This section focuses on probabilities and simulation, and students learn what data should look like for a given model. Topics covered include the addition rule, multiplication rule, conditional proba bility, normal distribution, random variables, t-distribution, and chi-square distribution. 20 to 30 percent of the AP exam covers these topics. Statistical Inference. In this section, students learn how to select appropriate models for a given task. Students study how to estimate population parameters and test hypotheses. Important topics include margins of error, confidence levels, p-values, types of errors, and more. This is the largest area of course content and accounts for 30 to 40 percent of the exam. AP Statistics Score Information In 2018,  222,501 students took the exam. The mean score was a 2.88, and roughly 60.7 percent  of students (135,008 of them) scored a 3 or higher. According to AP score guidelines, a 3 is necessary to demonstrate a level of competency adequate for earning college credit. The distribution of scores for the AP Statistics exam is as follows: AP Statistics Score Percentiles (2018 Data) Score Number of Students Percentage of Students 5 32,417 14.6 4 47,108 21.2 3 55,483 24.9 2 35,407 15.9 1 52,086 23.4 If your exam score is on the lower end of the scale, keep in mind that colleges often do not require you to report AP exam scores. They are typically self-reported and can be omitted if you choose. AP Statistics Course Placement Information: As the table below reveals, AP Statistics is not accepted by many colleges. There are a few reasons for this: the course is non-calculus-based, but many college statistics courses require calculus; many colleges teach statistics in field-specific ways in courses such as Business Statistics and Psychological Statistics and Methods; finally, statistics is a topic that relies heavily upon computers and spreadsheet programs, but the AP exam is not set up to allow students to use computers.   The table below presents some representative data from a variety of colleges and universities. This information is meant to provide a general overview of the scoring and placement practices related to the AP Statistics exam. For a specific college or university, youll need to search the schools website or contact the appropriate Registrars office to get AP placement information. Even for the schools I list below, check with the institution to get the most recent placement guidelines.   AP Statistics Scores and Placement College Score Needed Placement Credit Georgia Tech - no credit or placement Grinnell College 4 or 5 4 semester credits; MAT/SST 115 MIT - no credit or placement Notre Dame 5 Mathematics 10140 (3 credits) Reed College 4 or 5 1 credit Stanford University - no credit or placement for AP Statistics Truman State University 3, 4 or 5 STAT 190 Basic Statistics (3 credits) UCLA (School of Letters and Science) 3, 4 or 5 4 credits; quantitative reasoning requirement fulfilled Yale University - no credits or placement A Final Word About AP Statistics You can learn more about the AP Statistics course and exam on the  official College Board website. Keep in mind that AP Statistics has value even if you dont receive college credit for the course. At some point in your college career, you are likely going to need to conduct a survey, work with spreadsheets, and/or process data. Have some knowledge of statistics will be invaluable at these times. Also, when you apply to colleges, the most important part of your application will be your academic record. Colleges want to see that you have done well in challenging courses. Success in Advanced Placement courses such as AP Statistics is one significant way you can demonstrate your college readiness.