Question about MLA editing help for research papers

[ProofreadingPro]

Hey y'all, first-gen student here trying to navigate this college circus alone .

Currently drowning in American Government, Political Theory, and Public Policy classes . Feeling like a lost puppy in a maze with this whole financial aid mess . highkey anyway, i'm elbow-deep in a research paper for political theory and could really use some mla editing wizardry .

Anyone got tips on how to properly cite those pesky sources without losing my last brain cell? Trying to impress my prof while still keeping my sanity intact . Appreciate any help or guidance!

 

[Aseko]

For political theory specifically, you'll have a mix of primary sources (actual political philosophers) and secondary sources (scholars writing about them). MLA handles both but you need to be careful with ancient texts because they often have book/chapter/line numbers instead of page numbers. Check your professor's preference on that.

Also the "pesky sources" thing is real. I keep a running document while I research and paste the citation info immediately. Saves the "where did I find this" panic later. Zotero or Mendeley both do this automatically but even a Word doc works.

 

[AdamWolf]

Political theory papers hit different when it comes to citations cause you're dealing with like... original texts AND commentaries AND modern applications

What works for me: keep a running doc with all your quotes and page numbers as you read. then when you write, you already have the citation info right there. saves so much time flipping back through books later.

also for those ancient philosophers and stuff - MLA has specific rules for translated works and classic lit. make sure you're including the original publication date AND the translation date if it matters for your argument. learned that one after a very sad grade