I approach the subject of the series comma with trepidation, I admit. There are entire sections in the Chicago Manual of Style devoted to each punctuation mark, and for the final word on commas, I strongly recommend the reader go to the source. However, there are other style manuals in use that use other rules, and since I've worked in the industries that use, for instance, the AP style book (from the Associated Press) I decided it was worthwhile to discuss one of the main differences that I know causes writers a good deal of confusion.
One of the major differences between newspaper and magazine style and book style is the use of the series comma, or as some call it, the terminal comma. Journalistic (AP) style does not use it; books do. So far as I've been able to tell from reading all sorts of things on the Internet, there is no particular style, which is unfortunate, since having some kind of style in mind helps set limits on how a writer puts together a sentence. In fact, I find writing on the Internet and the Web just terrible. Fingernails on a blackboard or rusty nails being yanked out of wood. Jarring, and worse, unintelligible. Just read some of the incoherent comments put up on Facebook or MySpace and you'll see what I mean. And more than likely, these people are your friends and family!
The series comma separates items in a series of things. For instance: "I'm taking my new shoes, some socks, and a few scarves with me on my trip." Note that the item "socks" is separated from the final item in the series by a comma. AP style would have it this way: "The alleged thief took a set of sterling silver candlesticks, a wide-screen TV and a walnut buffet from the apartment." The sentence remains intelligible; however, when I worked on magazines, I found it constraining because at times I felt like I was boxed into writing a sentence that would be easy to misread, such as "Throw your father down the stairs his hat." I constructed the sentence so that the last two items were very different from each other, but what if they were very similar, or two parts of one item? That's where leaving off the final comma presents problems. Thus, I prefer to use it and think everyone should. However, I doubt whether any journalistic entity is going to change its style based on my preferences.
One thing about writing that is really important to understand is that no matter what style you choose to follow, you must stick with it. Copy editors detest mixed styles and will adjust your inconsistencies to be consistent, but if you are self-publishing, no one will make the adjustment for you, most likely. So your book could possibly present a reader with difficulties in figuring out what you mean. This is definitely a situation you want to avoid.
If you are writing your resume, from the printed materials I've seen and from resume-writing programs such as WinWay, you have to make the decision yourself. WinWay omits the final comma in a series, and when I used it to help my clients put together their resumes, I just left the entries as the program had them. I felt it was too difficult a discussion to get into with a client and perhaps too technical. On my own resume, however, I use the series comma. Nonetheless, there are no rules for writing resumes regarding a series comma, and you are always free to use the style you prefer. But the rule about consistency still applies: Whatever style you choose, use it consistently all the way through the document.
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