Commas

Commas generally reflect pauses in speech and are used to separate words or expressions that interrupt the normal progression of a sentence.

The university does not use the Oxford comma; in a series, place commas after each item but not before the final and, or and/or nor.

For example: Students waited in line to buy their textbooks, notebooks, pencils and pens.

When a sentence includes the word and in a number of instances, use a comma to separate for clarity.

For example: The faculties of Engineering and Applied Science, and Social Science and Humanities tied for first place during Orientation Week’s Wild Goose Chase.

For direct quotes, place commas and periods inside the quotation marks.

For example: “Everyone at Ontario Tech University is tremendously proud of the members of the university’s Formula SAE team,” said Dr. Hossam Kishawy, Dean, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science.

For example: Dr. Hossam Kishawy, Dean, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, is proud of the Formula SAE Motorsports team.

When writing a specific date that includes a day of the week, place a comma between the day and the month.

For example: Lectures begin on Thursday, September 6.