diff --git a/doc/matplotlibrc b/doc/matplotlibrc
index 5c9685987e24..5c623fc6862f 100644
--- a/doc/matplotlibrc
+++ b/doc/matplotlibrc
@@ -1,16 +1,4 @@
-backend      : Agg
-
-figure.figsize   : 5.5, 4.5    # figure size in inches
-savefig.dpi       : 80      # figure dots per inch
-docstring.hardcopy : True  # set this when you want to generate hardcopy docstring
-
-# these parameters are useful for packagers who want to build the docs
-# w/o invoking file downloads for the sampledata (see
-# matplotlib.cbook.get_sample_data.  Unpack
-# mpl_sampledata-VERSION.tar.gz and point examples.directory to it.
-# You can use a relative path for examples.directory and it must be
-# relative to this matplotlibrc file
-
-#examples.download : False  # False to bypass downloading mechanism
-#examples.directory : /your/path/to/sample_data/   # directory to look in if download is false
-
+backend            : Agg
+figure.figsize     : 5.5, 4.5 # figure size in inches
+savefig.dpi        : 80       # figure dots per inch
+docstring.hardcopy : True     # set this when you want to generate hardcopy docstring
diff --git a/examples/api/sankey_basics.py b/examples/api/sankey_basics.py
index 3c69a97a99f8..891ed4e9356f 100644
--- a/examples/api/sankey_basics.py
+++ b/examples/api/sankey_basics.py
@@ -67,10 +67,9 @@
 # Notice:
 #
 # 1. Since the sum of the flows is nonzero, the width of the trunk isn't
-#    uniform.  If verbose.level is helpful (in matplotlibrc), a message is
-#    given in the terminal window.
-# 2. The second flow doesn't appear because its value is zero.  Again, if
-#    verbose.level is helpful, a message is given in the terminal window.
+#    uniform.  The matplotlib logging system logs this at the DEBUG level.
+# 2. The second flow doesn't appear because its value is zero.  Again, this is
+#    logged at the DEBUG level.
 
 
 ###############################################################################
diff --git a/examples/api/unicode_minus.py b/examples/api/unicode_minus.py
index d607b535bdc7..4acfc07a58fb 100644
--- a/examples/api/unicode_minus.py
+++ b/examples/api/unicode_minus.py
@@ -3,13 +3,15 @@
 Unicode minus
 =============
 
-You can use the proper typesetting Unicode minus (see
-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plus_sign#Plus_sign) or the ASCII hyphen
-for minus, which some people prefer.  The matplotlibrc param
-axes.unicode_minus controls the default behavior.
+You can use the proper typesetting `Unicode minus`__ or the ASCII hyphen for
+minus, which some people prefer.  :rc:`axes.unicode_minus` controls the default
+behavior.
+
+__ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plus_and_minus_signs#Character_codes
 
 The default is to use the Unicode minus.
 """
+
 import numpy as np
 import matplotlib
 import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
diff --git a/examples/ticks_and_spines/tick_xlabel_top.py b/examples/ticks_and_spines/tick_xlabel_top.py
index 5180f1acd2df..db992e529b92 100644
--- a/examples/ticks_and_spines/tick_xlabel_top.py
+++ b/examples/ticks_and_spines/tick_xlabel_top.py
@@ -7,9 +7,10 @@
 (default False) and :rc:`xtick.labelbottom` (default True) and
 :rc:`xtick.bottom` (default True) to control where on the axes ticks and
 their labels appear.
-These properties can also be set in the ``.matplotlib/matplotlibrc``.
 
+These properties can also be set in ``.matplotlib/matplotlibrc``.
 """
+
 import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
 import numpy as np
 
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/axes/_axes.py b/lib/matplotlib/axes/_axes.py
index d476deb356fd..6cc60c5b56da 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/axes/_axes.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/axes/_axes.py
@@ -3369,8 +3369,7 @@ def boxplot(self, x, notch=None, sym=None, vert=None, whis=None,
 
         """
 
-        # If defined in matplotlibrc, apply the value from rc file
-        # Overridden if argument is passed
+        # Missing arguments default to rcParams.
         if whis is None:
             whis = rcParams['boxplot.whiskers']
         if bootstrap is None:
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/backend_bases.py b/lib/matplotlib/backend_bases.py
index 4415b6cf8cdc..19df26230303 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/backend_bases.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/backend_bases.py
@@ -2454,7 +2454,7 @@ def key_press_handler(event, canvas, toolbar=None):
     if event.key is None:
         return
 
-    # Load key-mappings from your matplotlibrc file.
+    # Load key-mappings from rcParams.
     fullscreen_keys = rcParams['keymap.fullscreen']
     home_keys = rcParams['keymap.home']
     back_keys = rcParams['keymap.back']
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/backends/backend_agg.py b/lib/matplotlib/backends/backend_agg.py
index 9c854fb09474..b17ab46ca27d 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/backends/backend_agg.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/backends/backend_agg.py
@@ -521,11 +521,10 @@ def print_jpg(self, filename_or_obj, *args, **kwargs):
             Other Parameters
             ----------------
             quality : int
-                The image quality, on a scale from 1 (worst) to
-                95 (best). The default is 95, if not given in the
-                matplotlibrc file in the savefig.jpeg_quality parameter.
-                Values above 95 should be avoided; 100 completely
-                disables the JPEG quantization stage.
+                The image quality, on a scale from 1 (worst) to 100 (best).
+                The default is :rc:`savefig.jpeg_quality`.  Values above
+                95 should be avoided; 100 completely disables the JPEG
+                quantization stage.
 
             optimize : bool
                 If present, indicates that the encoder should
@@ -543,7 +542,7 @@ def print_jpg(self, filename_or_obj, *args, **kwargs):
             # handle any transparency
             image = Image.frombuffer('RGBA', size, buf, 'raw', 'RGBA', 0, 1)
             rgba = mcolors.to_rgba(rcParams['savefig.facecolor'])
-            color = tuple([int(x * 255.0) for x in rgba[:3]])
+            color = tuple([int(x * 255) for x in rgba[:3]])
             background = Image.new('RGB', size, color)
             background.paste(image, image)
             options = {k: kwargs[k]
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/contour.py b/lib/matplotlib/contour.py
index 409786159836..bb50affd5820 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/contour.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/contour.py
@@ -1743,8 +1743,7 @@ def _initialize_x_y(self, z):
         contour-only keyword arguments:
 
           *linewidths*: [ *None* | number | tuple of numbers ]
-            If *linewidths* is *None*, the default width in
-            ``lines.linewidth`` in ``matplotlibrc`` is used.
+            If *None*, defaults to :rc:`lines.linewidth`.
 
             If a number, all levels will be plotted with this linewidth.
 
@@ -1752,10 +1751,9 @@ def _initialize_x_y(self, z):
             linewidths in the order specified.
 
           *linestyles*: [ *None* | 'solid' | 'dashed' | 'dashdot' | 'dotted' ]
-            If *linestyles* is *None*, the default is 'solid' unless
-            the lines are monochrome.  In that case, negative
-            contours will take their linestyle from the ``matplotlibrc``
-            ``contour.negative_linestyle`` setting.
+            If *linestyles* is *None*, the default is 'solid' unless the lines
+            are monochrome.  In that case, negative contours will take their
+            linestyle from :rc:`contour.negative_linestyle` setting.
 
             *linestyles* can also be an iterable of the above strings
             specifying a set of linestyles to be used. If this
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/figure.py b/lib/matplotlib/figure.py
index e82858a835b5..3574e0aea2b6 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/figure.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/figure.py
@@ -1809,8 +1809,7 @@ def savefig(self, fname, **kwargs):
 
             If *format* is *None* and *fname* is a string, the output
             format is deduced from the extension of the filename. If
-            the filename has no extension, the value of the rc parameter
-            ``savefig.format`` is used.
+            the filename has no extension, :rc:`savefig.format` is used.
 
             If *fname* is not a string, remember to specify *format* to
             ensure that the correct backend is used.
@@ -1818,19 +1817,20 @@ def savefig(self, fname, **kwargs):
         Other Parameters
         ----------------
 
-        dpi : [ *None* | scalar > 0 | 'figure']
-            The resolution in dots per inch.  If *None* it will default to
-            the value ``savefig.dpi`` in the matplotlibrc file. If 'figure'
-            it will set the dpi to be the value of the figure.
+        dpi : [ *None* | scalar > 0 | 'figure' ]
+            The resolution in dots per inch.  If *None*, defaults to
+            :rc:`savefig.dpi`.  If 'figure', uses the figure's dpi value.
 
         facecolor : color spec or None, optional
-            the facecolor of the figure; if None, defaults to savefig.facecolor
+            The facecolor of the figure; if *None*, defaults to
+            :rc:`savefig.facecolor`.
 
         edgecolor : color spec or None, optional
-            the edgecolor of the figure; if None, defaults to savefig.edgecolor
+            The edgecolor of the figure; if *None*, defaults to
+            :rc:`savefig.edgecolor`
 
         orientation : {'landscape', 'portrait'}
-            not supported on all backends; currently only on postscript output
+            Currently only supported by the postscript backend.
 
         papertype : str
             One of 'letter', 'legal', 'executive', 'ledger', 'a0' through
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/font_manager.py b/lib/matplotlib/font_manager.py
index e193167d86d7..b8675ac5e691 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/font_manager.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/font_manager.py
@@ -556,7 +556,7 @@ class FontProperties(object):
         The items may include a generic font family name, either
         'serif', 'sans-serif', 'cursive', 'fantasy', or 'monospace'.
         In that case, the actual font to be used will be looked up
-        from the associated rcParam in :file:`matplotlibrc`.
+        from the associated rcParam.
 
       - style: Either 'normal', 'italic' or 'oblique'.
 
@@ -577,7 +577,7 @@ class FontProperties(object):
         absolute font size, e.g., 12
 
     The default font property for TrueType fonts (as specified in the
-    default :file:`matplotlibrc` file) is::
+    default rcParams) is::
 
       sans-serif, normal, normal, normal, normal, scalable.
 
@@ -596,9 +596,9 @@ class FontProperties(object):
     This support does not require fontconfig to be installed.  We are merely
     borrowing its pattern syntax for use here.
 
-    Note that matplotlib's internal font manager and fontconfig use a
+    Note that Matplotlib's internal font manager and fontconfig use a
     different algorithm to lookup fonts, so the results of the same pattern
-    may be different in matplotlib than in other applications that use
+    may be different in Matplotlib than in other applications that use
     fontconfig.
     """
 
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/pyplot.py b/lib/matplotlib/pyplot.py
index 4bf4fc72ac03..725aa32b2e1f 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/pyplot.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/pyplot.py
@@ -467,8 +467,7 @@ def figure(num=None,  # autoincrement if None, else integer from 1-N
     to properly clean up the memory.
 
     rcParams defines the default values, which can be modified in the
-    matplotlibrc file
-
+    matplotlibrc file.
     """
 
     if figsize is None:
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/texmanager.py b/lib/matplotlib/texmanager.py
index 4dc828151753..e4f50b7a3311 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/texmanager.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/texmanager.py
@@ -25,12 +25,7 @@
   Z = texmanager.get_rgba(s, fontsize=12, dpi=80, rgb=(1,0,0))
 
 To enable tex rendering of all text in your matplotlib figure, set
-text.usetex in your matplotlibrc file or include these two lines in
-your script::
-
-  from matplotlib import rc
-  rc('text', usetex=True)
-
+:rc:`text.usetex` to True.
 """
 
 import copy
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/text.py b/lib/matplotlib/text.py
index 77cf2313427b..d2df6c6e392e 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/text.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/text.py
@@ -969,11 +969,10 @@ def set_linespacing(self, spacing):
 
     def set_family(self, fontname):
         """
-        Set the font family.  May be either a single string, or a list
-        of strings in decreasing priority.  Each string may be either
-        a real font name or a generic font class name.  If the latter,
-        the specific font names will be looked up in the
-        :file:`matplotlibrc` file.
+        Set the font family.  May be either a single string, or a list of
+        strings in decreasing priority.  Each string may be either a real font
+        name or a generic font class name.  If the latter, the specific font
+        names will be looked up in the corresponding rcParams.
 
         ACCEPTS: [FONTNAME | 'serif' | 'sans-serif' | 'cursive' | 'fantasy' |
                   'monospace' ]
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/tri/tricontour.py b/lib/matplotlib/tri/tricontour.py
index 9cbb88fab327..e54e9c555fc2 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/tri/tricontour.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/tri/tricontour.py
@@ -230,8 +230,7 @@ def tricontour(ax, *args, **kwargs):
     tricontour-only keyword arguments:
 
         *linewidths*: [ *None* | number | tuple of numbers ]
-        If *linewidths* is *None*, the default width in
-        ``lines.linewidth`` in ``matplotlibrc`` is used.
+        If *linewidths* is *None*, defaults to rc:`lines.linewidth`.
 
         If a number, all levels will be plotted with this linewidth.
 
@@ -248,8 +247,7 @@ def tricontour(ax, *args, **kwargs):
 
         If contour is using a monochrome colormap and the contour
         level is less than 0, then the linestyle specified
-        in ``contour.negative_linestyle`` in ``matplotlibrc``
-        will be used.
+        in :rc:`contour.negative_linestyle` will be used.
 
     tricontourf-only keyword arguments: