Writing References
A reference can be:
- API documentation
-
API documentation provides detailed breakdowns of all methods, classes, sample requests, and sample responses for an API.
- A list of properties or UI options
-
A table that lists a st of options or properties that a user can interact with through the UI or API.
Description Attribute
At the beginning of every reference, you should have a brief explanation of the goal of the reference material, or what the user can hope to find in the topic.
This goal should be part of the :description:
attribute that you need to add to the beginning of every topic.
If you need to add links to your brief explanation, put them outside of the :description:
attribute.
General Guidelines
A reference should:
-
Make use of tables, description lists, and headings to break up information and make it easy to scan.
Required Sections
The only required heading and section in a reference is the See Also section.
See Also
The See Also section in a reference should be an H2 level heading.
It contains an unordered list of links to tasks, concepts, or other references that the user can read to continue in their learning journey.
There will always be somewhere the user can go next or view after reading your reference. |