Writing about Theory

Writing about ‘theory’ can cause a good deal of anxiety for many people, not just research students. Taking a step back and thinking about what is meant by theory, and how and why it might be useful to you as a writer can help alleviate some of this fear.

What is theory?

Writing about 'Theory' can be challenging, even for the most experienced writers. The perceived complexity of writing here is often complicated by the fact that the word ‘theory’ is often used to mean different things; it can relate to conceptual frameworks, methodologies, epistemologies and ontologies among other things. Furthermore, there are often multiple theories at play in investigations, which can be interdisciplinary, and these theories are rarely static – they are frequently contested and change over time.  

However, it can be helpful to take a step back and focus on the purpose of theory in research. To use the words of Pat Thomson, “Theory is simply a way of explaining why things are the way they are and how they relate to other things.” (Thomson, Can you say something about the theory chapter)

Another way to think about it is as a kind of meta-commentary that explains your data/analyses; it helps us make meaning of experience.

Why do we use it?

While all disciplines base their research on conceptual principles, for some disciplines, particularly in the Social Sciences and Humanities, justifying your arguments by using a theoretical framework is considered very important.

Theory helps us think through, and make sense of, some of the complexities that arise in our research. It helps us engage with the intellectual traditions of our disciplines, and can be used to provide fresh ways to look at old problems. It can also be used as a filter to help define and narrow the scope of projects.

Where does it go?

You may not need a separate ‘Theory’ section at all; in fact, it should be the case that your use of theory will permeate your discussions throughout the thesis.

However, you want to orient your examiner as to how you are approaching your research problem early, so it is often that discussions around theoretical positions come early in the thesis, either as part of the Introduction, or potentially as a separate chapter.

Getting started with theory

There is no easy way into writing about theory and even just understanding some ideas is going to take a lot of reading, discussion with others, and thought on your part. You will probably need the guidance of your supervisor here, so this is the first place to go. However, you could try using these few prompts to get you started.

• What are the key concepts and questions of your research project?
• What theories have been used by other researchers to discuss similar concepts and questions?
• Write a simple, sentence-level definition of each key theoretical term that you think you will be using.
• Try to clearly describe, in just one paragraph, each of the theories you are considering using.
• Write another paragraph explaining why you think these theories are useful to understanding your research; make the link between your research and the theories very explicit.
• Describe briefly the assumptions (ideological, epistemological, etc.) that underlie the theories you will be using.

You will, of course, need to write much more than this, but these prompts should help you get going.

A few tips

Do

• Use theory to help you tell your research story, rather than allowing your own narrative to be dominated by it.
• Aim to discuss primary material, although don’t try to imitate the writing style of the theorist.
• Make clarity a key aim in your writing of the theory.
• Ensure you link the theory to your work; ‘you’ need to be present here.
• Explain specific terms that you use – don’t assume your reader’s interpretation will be the same as yours.
• Be selective - you don’t have to explain a theorist’s entire work.
• Paraphrase rather than quote too much – your examiner wants to see your understanding of the ideas.
• Use the present tense when writing about theory.
• Acknowledge the limitations of the theories you are using as interpretative frameworks.

Don't

• Name drop, or mention theorists that you will not be using just to show that you have read their work.
• Don’t use too much secondary material; instead, write in your own words.
• Try to write like the theorists you are describing.
• Write long complex explanations. 
• Use too many modifying clauses and phrases.