Answer:
Establishes a consistent format for citing published sources in the bibliography.
Step-by-step explanation:
When working on a research paper, we use different sources we base our research on. At the end of the paper, we need to list those sources as references in order to avoid plagiarism.
MLA (Modern Language Association) and APA (American Psychological Association) formats are only two of many ways we can list them. Which format we will use depends on the topic of the paper and the type of references. We need to stick to only one format in order to make our citations consistent.