Commas

In a series, place commas after each item but not before the final and.

  • Books, pencils and rulers


In a quotation, put commas and periods inside quotation marks. (See the Quotations section.)

  • "We need to recruit the best students we possibly can," he said.


With a long descriptive title, put commas after the name and job description.

  • Ray Gosine, dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, spoke at the meeting.
  • Loyola Hearn, federal minister of fisheries, visited Memorial.


With degrees and long descriptive phrases, put a comma between the name, the degree, and the phrase.

  • George Nelson, BA, MA, PhD, won a gold medal.


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

  • The last day of classes is Friday, Aug. 5.
  • A meeting to discuss the report will take place on Monday, Aug. 16, 2007, in the Inco Centre.


For more information on commas, see the CP Stylebook.