<p>Hi, I'm just starting on my Common App essay and I'm going with diversity. I'm going to write about my experience going to school in China and I was wondering if it would be acceptable to use phonetic spellings for words in the essay? An example would be a reference to the "Gao Kao", or just when the teacher says "Shang ke!" to initiate the class (Chinese tradition).</p>
<p>I apologize if this is a bit of a silly question but I just want to be safe and get a second opinion. Thank you!</p>
Just kidding, you should be fine, as what you’re doing seems to be the standard in literature. Good luck! :)</p>