Appears to look at some writing (5)
I believe the answer is:
seems
'appears' is the definition.
('seem' can be a synonym of 'appear')
'look at some writing' is the wordplay.
'look at' becomes 'see' (I've seen this in another clue).
'some writing' becomes 'MS' (abbreviation for manuscript).
'see'+'ms'='SEEMS'
'to' is the link.
(Other definitions for seems that I've seen before include "Gives a certain impression" , "Appears, looks" .)