You always need to be very clear in what you mean. Otherwise, it is hard to read for your audience. Always include brackets with the element names. You can differentiate attributes and values by using these words. Always include the word “value” when talking about values.

  • First mention of an element: “<h1> element”
  • First mention of an attribute: “id attribute”
  • First mention of a value: “my-great-id value”
  • Subsequent mention of an element: “<h1>” or “<h1> element”
  • Subsequent mention of an attribute: “id” or “id attribute”
  • Subsequent mention of a value: “my-great-id value”
  • Avoid the use of “tag” when the whole element is the subject of the sentence, do only use “tag” when it is specific to the start or end tag. Always specify “start tag” or “end tag”.