diff --git a/doc/users/faq.rst b/doc/users/faq.rst
index 5aec1e08fb14..91a351749705 100644
--- a/doc/users/faq.rst
+++ b/doc/users/faq.rst
@@ -18,9 +18,10 @@ Please see :ref:`figures-not-showing`.
 .. _how-to-too-many-ticks:
 
 Why do I have so many ticks, and/or why are they out of order?
+In simple terms, this happens because Matplotlib treats strings as categories instead of numeric values. As a result, the axis may display ticks in an unexpected order or show too many ticks.
 --------------------------------------------------------------
 
-One common cause for unexpected tick behavior is passing a *list of strings
+A common cause for unexpected tick behavior is passing a *list of strings
 instead of numbers or datetime objects*. This can easily happen without notice
 when reading in a comma-delimited text file. Matplotlib treats lists of strings
 as *categorical* variables
diff --git a/doc/users/getting_started/index.rst b/doc/users/getting_started/index.rst
index dfbbd615b5cd..6afe903181cc 100644
--- a/doc/users/getting_started/index.rst
+++ b/doc/users/getting_started/index.rst
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ Installation quick-start
 Draw a first plot
 -----------------
 
-Here is a minimal example plot:
+Here is a minimal example of a plot:
 
 .. plot::
    :include-source: