diff --git a/plugins/outputs/kafka/README.md b/plugins/outputs/kafka/README.md
index b548deaa0..93182ba08 100644
--- a/plugins/outputs/kafka/README.md
+++ b/plugins/outputs/kafka/README.md
@@ -88,14 +88,12 @@ This plugin writes to a [Kafka Broker](http://kafka.apache.org/07/quickstart.htm
 
 #### `max_retry`
 
-This option controls the retries before notification of failure is displayed
-per message when no acknowledgement is received from the broker.  When this
-option is greater than `0` it can reduce message latency and duplicate
-messages in the case of transient errors, but may also increase the load on
-the broker during periods of downtime.
+This option controls the number of retries before a failure notification is
+displayed for each message when no acknowledgement is received from the
+broker. When the setting is greater than `0`, message latency can be reduced,
+duplicate messages can occur in cases of transient errors, and broker loads
+can increase during downtime.
 
 The option is similar to the
 [retries](https://kafka.apache.org/documentation/#producerconfigs) Producer
 option in the Java Kafka Producer.
-
-