diff --git a/ruff_cli/src/args.rs b/ruff_cli/src/args.rs
index 23ea2daf29..b43899b44f 100644
--- a/ruff_cli/src/args.rs
+++ b/ruff_cli/src/args.rs
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ use rustc_hash::FxHashMap;
     author,
     name = "ruff",
     about = "Ruff: An extremely fast Python linter.",
-    after_help = "To get help about a specific command, see 'ruff help <command>'."
+    after_help = "For help with a specific command, see: `ruff help <command>`."
 )]
 #[command(version)]
 pub struct Args {
@@ -29,8 +29,7 @@ pub struct Args {
 #[allow(clippy::large_enum_variant)]
 #[derive(Debug, clap::Subcommand)]
 pub enum Command {
-    /// Run ruff on the given files or directories (this command is used by
-    /// default and may be omitted)
+    /// Run Ruff on the given files or directories (default).
     Check(CheckArgs),
     /// Explain a rule.
     #[clap(alias = "--explain")]
@@ -42,10 +41,10 @@ pub enum Command {
         #[arg(long, value_enum, env = "RUFF_FORMAT", default_value = "text")]
         format: HelpFormat,
     },
-    /// Clear any caches in the current directory or any subdirectories.
+    /// Clear any caches in the current directory and any subdirectories.
     #[clap(alias = "--clean")]
     Clean,
-    /// Generate shell completion
+    /// Generate shell completion.
     #[clap(alias = "--generate-shell-completion", hide = true)]
     GenerateShellCompletion { shell: clap_complete_command::Shell },
 }
@@ -53,6 +52,7 @@ pub enum Command {
 #[derive(Debug, clap::Args)]
 #[allow(clippy::struct_excessive_bools, clippy::module_name_repetitions)]
 pub struct CheckArgs {
+    /// List of files or directories to check.
     pub files: Vec<PathBuf>,
     /// Attempt to automatically fix lint violations.
     #[arg(long, overrides_with("no_fix"))]
diff --git a/ruff_cli/src/main.rs b/ruff_cli/src/main.rs
index d55f4189ed..b5140fce4a 100644
--- a/ruff_cli/src/main.rs
+++ b/ruff_cli/src/main.rs
@@ -39,18 +39,18 @@ fn inner_main() -> Result<ExitCode> {
 
     // Clap doesn't support default subcommands but we want to run `check` by
     // default for convenience and backwards-compatibility, so we just
-    // preprocess the arguments accordingly before passing them to clap.
-    if let Some(arg1) = args.get(1).and_then(|s| s.to_str()) {
-        if !Command::has_subcommand(arg1)
-            && !arg1
+    // preprocess the arguments accordingly before passing them to Clap.
+    if let Some(arg) = args.get(1).and_then(|s| s.to_str()) {
+        if !Command::has_subcommand(arg)
+            && !arg
                 .strip_prefix("--")
                 .map(Command::has_subcommand)
                 .unwrap_or_default()
-            && arg1 != "-h"
-            && arg1 != "--help"
-            && arg1 != "-v"
-            && arg1 != "--version"
-            && arg1 != "help"
+            && arg != "-h"
+            && arg != "--help"
+            && arg != "-v"
+            && arg != "--version"
+            && arg != "help"
         {
             args.insert(1, "check".into());
         }