... thank my parents, God and Elinor Roosevelt.
Gosh, I loved that post!
So mine would have been:
I would be an illustrator — I love drawing. Or a coach, since I have a natural interest in people: what motivates them, makes them sad, mad or glad.
By which, are you suggesting that Americans don't use commas before the final 'and' in sequences? Note, I never said they always did, just as I would never say that the British never use a comma here. What I am saying is that Americans definitely use such commas more often than the British do.
Here's what wikipedia has to say about this use of the comma - the 'serial comma', I've learnt:
"Opinions vary among writers and editors on the usage or avoidance of the serial comma. In
American English the serial comma is standard in most non-journalistic writing, which typically follows the
Chicago Manual of Style. Journalists, however, usually follow the
Associated Press Style Guide, which advises against it. It is less often used in
British English."
Note the last sentence. But it's not just something I've read; it's something I and my colleagues notice on a regular basis, because we often have to conform documents from our New York office to our firm's house style, which is based on GBEng - one of the most striking differences is the profusion of these redundant commas.
