diff --git a/Doc/howto/sorting.rst b/Doc/howto/sorting.rst
--- a/Doc/howto/sorting.rst
+++ b/Doc/howto/sorting.rst
@@ -37,17 +37,17 @@ Another difference is that the :meth:`li
 lists. In contrast, the :func:`sorted` function accepts any iterable.
 
     >>> sorted({1: 'D', 2: 'B', 3: 'B', 4: 'E', 5: 'A'})
     [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
 
 Key Functions
 =============
 
-Both :meth:`list.sort` and :func:`sorted` have *key* parameter to specify a
+Both :meth:`list.sort` and :func:`sorted` have a *key* parameter to specify a
 function to be called on each list element prior to making comparisons.
 
 For example, here's a case-insensitive string comparison:
 
     >>> sorted("This is a test string from Andrew".split(), key=str.lower)
     ['a', 'Andrew', 'from', 'is', 'string', 'test', 'This']
 
 The value of the *key* parameter should be a function that takes a single argument
@@ -84,17 +84,17 @@ The same technique works for objects wit
     [('dave', 'B', 10), ('jane', 'B', 12), ('john', 'A', 15)]
 
 Operator Module Functions
 =========================
 
 The key-function patterns shown above are very common, so Python provides
 convenience functions to make accessor functions easier and faster. The
 :mod:`operator` module has :func:`~operator.itemgetter`,
-:func:`~operator.attrgetter`, and an :func:`~operator.methodcaller` function.
+:func:`~operator.attrgetter`, and a :func:`~operator.methodcaller` function.
 
 Using those functions, the above examples become simpler and faster:
 
     >>> from operator import itemgetter, attrgetter
 
     >>> sorted(student_tuples, key=itemgetter(2))
     [('dave', 'B', 10), ('jane', 'B', 12), ('john', 'A', 15)]
 
@@ -109,17 +109,17 @@ sort by *grade* then by *age*:
 
     >>> sorted(student_objects, key=attrgetter('grade', 'age'))
     [('john', 'A', 15), ('dave', 'B', 10), ('jane', 'B', 12)]
 
 Ascending and Descending
 ========================
 
 Both :meth:`list.sort` and :func:`sorted` accept a *reverse* parameter with a
-boolean value. This is using to flag descending sorts. For example, to get the
+boolean value. This is used to flag descending sorts. For example, to get the
 student data in reverse *age* order:
 
     >>> sorted(student_tuples, key=itemgetter(2), reverse=True)
     [('john', 'A', 15), ('jane', 'B', 12), ('dave', 'B', 10)]
 
     >>> sorted(student_objects, key=attrgetter('age'), reverse=True)
     [('john', 'A', 15), ('jane', 'B', 12), ('dave', 'B', 10)]