Book contents
- Critical Realism in Applied Linguistics
- The Cambridge Applied Linguistics Series
- Critical Realism in Applied Linguistics
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Tables
- Contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- 1Critical Realism
- 2Critical Realism and Research on Students’ Self-efficacy Beliefs
- 3Structure, Culture, Agency, and English Language Learning among Undergraduate Students in Cancun
- 4Realist Evaluation of ESP Curriculum Implementation
- 5What Makes Academic Writing Human(e)
- 6Empiricism in Interpretivist Sociolinguistics
- 7Counter-Voices of Resilience, through a Critical Realist Lens
- 8Critical Realist Reflections on Race Pedagogy in a University English for Liberal Arts Course in Japan
- 9A Non-anthropocentric Realism?
- Conclusion
- Index
- References
5 - What Makes Academic Writing Human(e)
A Critical Realist Response
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 30 January 2026
Book contents
- Critical Realism in Applied Linguistics
- The Cambridge Applied Linguistics Series
- Critical Realism in Applied Linguistics
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Tables
- Contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- 1Critical Realism
- 2Critical Realism and Research on Students’ Self-efficacy Beliefs
- 3Structure, Culture, Agency, and English Language Learning among Undergraduate Students in Cancun
- 4Realist Evaluation of ESP Curriculum Implementation
- 5What Makes Academic Writing Human(e)
- 6Empiricism in Interpretivist Sociolinguistics
- 7Counter-Voices of Resilience, through a Critical Realist Lens
- 8Critical Realist Reflections on Race Pedagogy in a University English for Liberal Arts Course in Japan
- 9A Non-anthropocentric Realism?
- Conclusion
- Index
- References
Summary
Drawing from critical realism and building on previous academic studies and writing theories and practices, the author advances approaches to academic writing that are both human and humane, by situating academic writing within the broader critical realist project of furthering human flourishing and emancipation; of what it means to be human; and of why things matter to people. Addressing what counts as human(e) in academic writing has become pressing, as concerns about machine-generated texts, such as Large Language Models like ChatGPT challenge understandings of truth, knowledge, and justice. Underlying the argument in this chapter is the assumption that writing in the academy is a social practice (specifically, a method of enquiry) that should be oriented towards epistemic virtues including commitment to truth and socially just standards of excellence. For academic writing to fulfil such commitments, the author argues that it needs to be human(e). For it to be human(e), it requires a writer–agent–knower to rationally judge between educative and harmful academic writing theories and practices, in the interests of human flourishing and emancipation.
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- Critical Realism in Applied Linguistics , pp. 123 - 145Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2026
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