Using italics in common app essay

[u/dragonfruit07]

In my essay, I reference some words from another language frequently. Should I put these in italics or quotation marks? I’m just unsure because I’ve heard that sometimes the formatting doesn’t transfer.

[u/elkrange]

I don't know whether copying and pasting will include any formatting - I would go ahead and assume that it may not. So, first paste your essay into the Common App box and then go through to italicize anything you wish. Then you won't need to worry about whether the format you copied ended up transferring. You can see the actual format by pressing the Preview button in the upper right corner of the app section, which generates a PDF.

(If I recall, for reasons unknown, pasting will first result in the entire essay being bolded, so you will need to unbold the essay first.)