“…Researchers often audio-and video-record the think-aloud process so that they can replay and refer to what participants have verbalized ( Gu et al, 2005 ; Yang et al, 2014 ). Think-aloud protocol method has been widely used in writing research in L1 and L2 contexts ( Flower and Hayes, 1981 ; Qi and Lapkin, 2001 ; Manchón, 2009 ; Kim and Bowles, 2019 ; Suh, 2020 ), as it explicitly reveals writers’ detailed cognitive process while performing the tasks ( Leighton and Gierl, 2007 ). Despite concerns about the reactivity and veridicality of this method ( Sachs and Polio, 2007 ; Yang et al, 2014 ), many researchers view it as a trustworthy methodological choice in second-language research if it is operated and interpreted with care ( Bowles, 2010 ; Zhang and Zhang, 2020 ).…”