diff --git a/docs/reference/binary.md b/docs/reference/binary.md
index db81dcee..c0de1e99 100644
--- a/docs/reference/binary.md
+++ b/docs/reference/binary.md
@@ -1,5 +1,11 @@
 # Compact Binary Encoding Reference
 
+The details of the binary encoding format are provided here for reference. You
+do not need to be familiar with this in order to use Yardl, as it takes care of
+serialization and deserialization for you. To learn about the semantics of the
+data types and how to use them, refer to the [Python](../python/language.md) or
+[C++](../cpp/language.md) language guides.
+
 ::: warning
 We might make breaking changes to this format before V1.
 :::
@@ -141,12 +147,12 @@ The format is:
 
 Enums and flags are written as a varint encoding of the underlying integer
 value. Note that the value is signed if the underlying type is signed, which is
-the default case if the `base` properly is not specified.
+the default case if the `base` property is not specified.
 
 ## Records
 
 Records are encoded as the concatenation of the value of its fields, in the
-order they appear in the schema.
+order they appear in the schema. Note that there is no padding between fields.
 
 ## Streams
 
diff --git a/docs/reference/ndjson.md b/docs/reference/ndjson.md
index 80b859e0..320352e9 100644
--- a/docs/reference/ndjson.md
+++ b/docs/reference/ndjson.md
@@ -1,5 +1,11 @@
 # NDJSON Encoding Reference
 
+The details of the NDJSON encoding format are provided here for reference. You
+do not need to be familiar with this in order to use Yardl, as it takes care of
+serialization and deserialization for you. To learn about the semantics of the
+data types and how to use them, refer to the [Python](../python/language.md) or
+[C++](../cpp/language.md) language guides.
+
 ::: warning
 We might make breaking changes to this format before V1.
 :::
diff --git a/docs/reference/protocol-schema.md b/docs/reference/protocol-schema.md
index 1f3ce466..8a6b21c1 100644
--- a/docs/reference/protocol-schema.md
+++ b/docs/reference/protocol-schema.md
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 # Protocol Schema JSON
 
 A protocol's schema is embedded in a JSON format in the binary, HDF5, and NDJSON
-encodings. This JSON format is informally described here.
+encodings. This JSON format is informally described here. You do not need to be
+familiar with this in order to use Yardl.
 
 ::: warning
 We might make breaking changes to this format before V1.