diff --git a/doc/source/user_guide/indexing.rst b/doc/source/user_guide/indexing.rst
index 4ea7c656fd197..862c35176d90a 100644
--- a/doc/source/user_guide/indexing.rst
+++ b/doc/source/user_guide/indexing.rst
@@ -6,17 +6,18 @@
 Indexing and Selecting Data
 ***************************
 
-The axis labeling information in pandas objects serves many purposes:
+In pandas, data structure axes such as the rows and columns of a DataFrame may have
+labels associated with them. Axis labeling in pandas is primarily used to:
 
-* Identifies data (i.e. provides *metadata*) using known indicators,
+* Identify data (i.e. provide *metadata*) using known indicators,
   important for analysis, visualization, and interactive console display.
-* Enables automatic and explicit data alignment.
-* Allows intuitive getting and setting of subsets of the data set.
+* Enable automatic and explicit data alignment.
+* Allow intuitive getting and setting of subsets of the data set.
 
 In this section, we will focus on the final point: namely, how to slice, dice,
 and generally get and set subsets of pandas objects. The primary focus will be
 on Series and DataFrame as they have received more development attention in
-this area.
+this area. 
 
 .. note::