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Is this correct ...

... accustomed to phrases such as: “War”, “Random Searches”, “Security Checkpoints”, “Weapons of Mass Destruction”, and “Acceptable Losses”.

or should it be ...

... accustomed to phrases such as: "War," "Random Searches," Security Checkpoints," "Weapons of Mass Destruction," and "Acceptable Losses."

Toni
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  • The answer probably varies between British English and American English, so both may be correct. But I would suggest italicizing these phrases, rather than using quotation marks, both for visual appeal/simplicity and since you seem to not be quoting a specific individual/source. – Ellie Jun 11 '13 at 20:20
  • Either way, the comma after the penultimate item (before the and) should be omitted. – DavidR Jun 11 '13 at 21:05
  • Unless you accept that the OUP knows better than you. – Edwin Ashworth Jun 11 '13 at 21:41
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    @DavidR Are you kidding? That's an Oxford comma. I was raised on those things. – Pitarou Jun 11 '13 at 23:50

2 Answers2

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Americans always include punctuation within quote marks, but Brits normally don't (not in OP's construction, anyway).

The comma after the penultimate item (before the and) is an Oxford/serial/Harvard comma, which so far as I know isn't really a UK/US split - it's just a matter of personal/house style.

I don't think it's meaningful to discuss whether “War” or "War" is correct. Typesetters obviously use the "matched pair", but not everyone has easy access to the appropriate symbol set. I know I could have "cut & pasted" them into that last sentence - I just didn't think it was worth the trouble.

FumbleFingers
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Use semi-colons to separate the complex list: War; Random Searches; Security Checkpoints; Weapons of Mass Destruction; and Acceptable Losses.

Smith
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