Jeff Anderson suggests that this is what students need to know about serial commas: (p. 49)
-- Commas can separate items or actions written in a series.
-- Lists consist of three or more items or actions.
-- Two items or actions are a pair, not a list, and do not require commas.
-- A comma separating the last item in a series may be omitted if and or or stand in and separate the last item. It's an issue of style. (In my class, I ask for the comma to stay.)
Misunderstandings you may need to clarity:
-- confusions between lists and pairs
--Assumptions about commas and conjunctions
Every sentence that has a comma has a serial comma.
Every sentence that has an and or or has a serial comma
"The Power of Three"
"Serial commas help combine sentences and expand ideas by using sensory detail -- specific nouns and verbs." p. 50
"Lists can be a way to add specifics to our writing.'" p. 51 sensory details
