Theory

What does it mean to use theory or to be theoretical?

It should mean understanding the theory and being able to paraphrase aspects of it in your own words.

Normally, it involves adopting a certain vocabulary, or theoretical meta-language. Being able to talk like a denizen of that theoretical terrain.

It could mean theoretical application, or doing an "-ist" reading of something.

It can mean citation, or using the names of theorists to bolster a rhetorical position. People often cite theorists that then they don't really use. I love it when people cite various theorists whose positions are actually opposed to one another; or they produce an analysis that is the same as if they had not cited (mentioned) that set of theorists.

It could mean attending to details in a text that are relevant to a particular theory, or using only the parts of a theory that are pertinent to that text.

What it should mean: intelligently thinking through possible positions, in reference to theoretical positions adopted by others but without following any previous model exactly.