Comma

The academic community favors the serial comma; in a series, put a comma before the and:

• The campus tour included the library, the gym, and the theater.

> See: dates (Common Quandaries)

You can omit the comma after a short introductory phrase, but only if no ambiguity will result:

• At St. Mary’s you feel immediately at home.
• BUT On the street below, a curious crowd gathered.

With conjunctions: When a conjunction such as and, but, or for links two independent clauses, use a comma before the conjunction if the subject of each clause is expressly stated:

• We visited Washington, and our senator greeted us personally.
• BUT We are visiting Washington and plan to see the White House.

Use a comma after introductory words ending in ly.

• Previously, Ken Carter served as interim dean.

With numbers:

• Use a comma in numbers of 1,000 and above, unless they appear in an address or SAT score.

Names of people:

• Robert C. Goddard III is chair of the Emory University Board of Trustees. 

Names of states or nations, with city names:

• Last year we had students from Selma, Alabama, and from Fargo, North Dakota; this year we have students from Dublin, Ireland, and even from Reykjavik, Iceland.

Placement with quotation marks:

• Commas always go inside quotation marks.

>See also: academic degrees (Common Quandaries) | class years (Emory Specifics)

Note: The Emory News Center is among the campus websites that follow Associated Press style, which omits the serial comma.