Why does the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook include abbreviations before volume, issue, and page numbers?

Note: This post relates to content in the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook. For up-to-date guidance, see the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook.

The eighth edition of the MLA Handbook aims to make the style accessible to all instead of creating an insider’s code. Thus, it eliminates some of the abbreviations used in the seventh edition for works-cited-list entries but introduces commonly recognized ones, such as vol.no.p. and pp., where their use might be helpful to readers.