Why do writers use appositives and appositive phrases in their writing?

An appositive (or an appositive phrase) gives more information about a noun. The appositive is usually placed next to the noun it modifies. Writers use appositive and appositive phrases in order to provide more information about something. Consider this sentence: Samson, my little puppy, tore the pillow apart. Here, the phrase "my little puppy" is an appositive phrase that tells us more about the noun "Samson." Thanks to the appositive phrase, the reader knows that it was a little puppy that tore the pillow apart, and not a person or other animal. Therefore, appositives are important in order to clearly convey information to the reader.