Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping the assessment of English academic writing in higher education, raising questions about validity, fairness, and authorship in AI-mediated learning environments. As students increasingly write with tools such as ChatGPT, Grammarly, and QuillBot, the boundary between human and AI contributions becomes less clear, complicating how assessors interpret performance as evidence of underlying ability. Using a narrative review approach, this article synthesises research on assessing AI-supported English academic writing across three domains: challenges, emerging assessment practices, and prospective strategies. The review shows that ethical and academic integrity concerns, unequal access, algorithmic bias, pedagogical tensions around higher-order thinking, technical limitations in AI-generated text, and institutional constraints on governance and academic staff preparedness are closely interrelated. In response, emerging practices highlight a shift toward process-oriented assessment, including AI-informed feedback systems, adaptive learning tools, and structured AI literacy instruction that makes students’ reasoning and decision-making more visible in assessment. Prospective strategies point toward assessment designs that position AI as scaffolded linguistic support within transparent draft-and-revise cycles, retain human judgement for evaluating complex reasoning and disciplinary communication, and embed clear institutional guidance for ethical and equitable AI use in line with SDG four on quality education and SDG 10 on reduced inequalities. Overall, this review presents an integrated synthesis of challenges, emerging practices, and prospective strategies, showing that credible assessment of AI-supported English academic writing requires process-focused design, clear ethical guidance, and institutional capacity-building across higher education

Cite as:

Singh, R. K.V., Hashim, H., Jamaludin, K.A., & Jamil, M.R.M.(2026). Assessing AI-Supported English Academic Writing in Higher Education: A Narrative Review of Challenges, Emerging Practices, and Prospective Strategies. Arab World English Journal, Special Issue on Artificial Intelligence, (3):436-451

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/A3.28

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Keywords

Academic integrity, artificial intelligence literacy, artificial intelligence-supported assessment,, English academic writing, generative artificial intelligence tools, higher education, validity and fairness

About the author

Randip Kaur Valdev Singh is a doctoral researcher at the Faculty of Education, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Malaysia. Her research interests include English as a Second Language (ESL) education, English-medium instruction (EMI), and the internationalisation of higher education, with related interests in language assessment and equity in higher education.
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-2463-7092

Harwati Hashim is a faculty member at the Faculty of Education, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Malaysia, and a member of the University Research Group on EduXcellence: Development of Innovative Curriculum and Pedagogy. Her research interests include English as a Second Language (ESL) education, mobile and technology-enhanced language learning (MALL), and technology acceptance in education. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8817-427X

Khairul Azhar Jamaludin is a faculty member at the Faculty of Education, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Malaysia, and a member of the University Research Group on ELITEE: Enhanced Learning for Inclusive Transformation of Education Experience. His research interests include educational inclusion, technology-enhanced learning, and equity-oriented educational innovation. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9709-6261

Mohd Ridhuan Mohd Jamil is a faculty member at the Faculty of Human Development, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI), Malaysia. He is an expert in design and development research and the Fuzzy Delphi Method (FDM). His research interests include technical and vocational education and training (TVET), engineering education, curriculum development, and generic skills and values. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1330-3751

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