diff --git a/canu/utils/validate_node_list.py b/canu/utils/validate_node_list.py
index 2ec4cfa8..2ff5f17c 100644
--- a/canu/utils/validate_node_list.py
+++ b/canu/utils/validate_node_list.py
@@ -25,9 +25,9 @@
 
 
 def validate_node_list(value):
-    """Takes a list of node ranges and returns a formatted list.
+    """Format a list of node ranges and return a formatted list.
 
-    Example: storage1-3, returns a list of [storage001, storage002, storage003]
+    Example: storage1-3 returns a list of [storage001, storage002, storage003]
 
     Args:
         value: node list