What is the purpose of a citation style?
Citing or documenting the sources used in your research serves three purposes: It gives proper credit to the authors of the words or ideas that you incorporated into your paper. It allows those who are reading your work to locate your sources, in order to learn more about the ideas that you include in your paper.
Why is consistent formatting so important for a citation style?
Having those elements in a consistent order and format also helps readers. They can glean information from your reference list more easily because they are looking at the content without having to first learn how you’ve ordered and organized your references.
What is the purpose of MLA formatting?
Why Use MLA? Using MLA Style properly makes it easier for readers to navigate and comprehend a text through familiar cues that refer to sources and borrowed information. Editors and instructors also encourage everyone to use the same format so there is consistency of style within a given field.