diff --git a/src/semantic_release/data/templates/conventional/md/.components/macros.md.j2 b/src/semantic_release/data/templates/conventional/md/.components/macros.md.j2
index 8bb56ea79..13cc18fac 100644
--- a/src/semantic_release/data/templates/conventional/md/.components/macros.md.j2
+++ b/src/semantic_release/data/templates/conventional/md/.components/macros.md.j2
@@ -6,41 +6,50 @@
 %}
 
 
+{#
+  MACRO: Capitalize the first letter of a string only
+#}{%  macro capitalize_first_letter_only(sentence)
+%}{{    (sentence[0] | upper) ~ sentence[1:]
+}}{%  endmacro
+%}
+
+
 {#
   MACRO: commit message links or PR/MR links of commit
 #}{%  macro commit_msg_links(commit)
 %}{%    if commit.error is undefined
-%}{%      set commit_hash_link = format_link(
-            commit.hexsha | commit_hash_url,
-            "`%s`" | format(commit.short_hash)
-          )
 %}{#
-#}{%      set summary_line = commit.descriptions[0] | safe
-%}{%      set summary_line = [
-            summary_line.split(" ", maxsplit=1)[0] | capitalize,
-            summary_line.split(" ", maxsplit=1)[1]
-          ] | join(" ")
+   #      # Initialize variables
+#}{%      set link_references = []
+%}{%      set summary_line = capitalize_first_letter_only(
+            commit.descriptions[0] | safe
+          )
 %}{#
 #}{%      if commit.linked_merge_request != ""
 %}{#        # Add PR references with a link to the PR
-#}{%        set pr_num = commit.linked_merge_request
-%}{%        set pr_link = format_link(pr_num | pull_request_url, pr_num)
-%}{#
-   #        TODO: breaking change v10, remove summary line replacers as PSR will do it for us
-#}{%        set summary_line = summary_line | replace("(pull request", "(") | replace("(" ~ pr_num ~ ")", "") | trim
-%}{%        set summary_line = "%s (%s, %s)" | format(
-              summary_line,
-              pr_link,
-              commit_hash_link,
+#}{%        set _ = link_references.append(
+              format_link(
+                commit.linked_merge_request | pull_request_url,
+                commit.linked_merge_request
+              )
             )
+%}{%      endif
+%}{#
+   #      # DEFAULT: Always include the commit hash as a link
+#}{%      set _ = link_references.append(
+            format_link(
+              commit.hexsha | commit_hash_url,
+              "`%s`" | format(commit.short_hash)
+            )
+          )
 %}{#
-          # DEFAULT: No PR identifier found, so just append commit hash as url to the commit summary_line
-#}{%      else
-%}{%        set summary_line = "%s (%s)" | format(summary_line, commit_hash_link)
+#}{%      set formatted_links = ""
+%}{%      if link_references | length > 0
+%}{%        set formatted_links = " (%s)" | format(link_references | join(", "))
 %}{%      endif
 %}{#
           # Return the modified summary_line
-#}{{      summary_line
+#}{{      summary_line ~ formatted_links
 }}{%    endif
 %}{%  endmacro
 %}
@@ -71,24 +80,21 @@
 
 
 {#
-  MACRO: format the breaking changes description by:
-  - Capitalizing the description
+  MACRO: format a commit descriptions list by:
+  - Capitalizing the first line of the description
   - Adding an optional scope prefix
-#}{%  macro format_breaking_changes_description(commit)
-%}{%    set ns = namespace(full_description="")
+  - Joining the rest of the descriptions with a double newline
+#}{%  macro format_attr_paragraphs(commit, attribute)
+%}{#    NOTE: requires namespace because of the way Jinja2 handles variable scoping with loops
+#}{%    set ns = namespace(full_description="")
 %}{#
 #}{%    if commit.error is undefined
-%}{%      for paragraph in commit.breaking_descriptions
+%}{%      for paragraph in commit | attr(attribute)
 %}{%        if paragraph | trim | length > 0
 %}{#
-#}{%          set paragraph_text = [
-                paragraph.split(" ", maxsplit=1)[0] | capitalize,
-                paragraph.split(" ", maxsplit=1)[1]
-              ] | join(" ") | trim | safe
-%}{#
 #}{%          set ns.full_description = [
                 ns.full_description,
-                paragraph_text
+                capitalize_first_letter_only(paragraph) | trim | safe,
               ] | join("\n\n")
 %}{#
 #}{%        endif
@@ -108,65 +114,48 @@
 %}
 
 
+{#
+  MACRO: format the breaking changes description by:
+  - Capitalizing the description
+  - Adding an optional scope prefix
+#}{%  macro format_breaking_changes_description(commit)
+%}{{    format_attr_paragraphs(commit, 'breaking_descriptions')
+}}{%  endmacro
+%}
+
+
 {#
   MACRO: format the release notice by:
   - Capitalizing the description
   - Adding an optional scope prefix
 #}{%  macro format_release_notice(commit)
-%}{%    set ns = namespace(full_description="")
-%}{#
-#}{%    if commit.error is undefined
-%}{%      for paragraph in commit.release_notices
-%}{%        if paragraph | trim | length > 0
-%}{#
-#}{%          set paragraph_text = [
-                paragraph.split(" ", maxsplit=1)[0] | capitalize,
-                paragraph.split(" ", maxsplit=1)[1]
-              ] | join(" ") | trim | safe
-%}{#
-#}{%          set ns.full_description = [
-                ns.full_description,
-                paragraph_text
-              ] | join("\n\n")
-%}{#
-#}{%        endif
-%}{%      endfor
-%}{#
-#}{%      set ns.full_description = ns.full_description | trim
-%}{#
-#}{%      if commit.scope
-%}{%        set ns.full_description = "**%s**: %s" | format(
-              commit.scope, ns.full_description
-            )
-%}{%      endif
-%}{%    endif
-%}{#
-#}{{    ns.full_description
+%}{{    format_attr_paragraphs(commit, "release_notices")
 }}{%  endmacro
 %}
 
 
 {#
-  MACRO: apply smart ordering of commits objects based on alphabetized summaries and then scopes
-  - Commits are sorted based on the commit type and the commit message
-  - Commits are grouped by the commit type
-  - parameter: ns (namespace) object with a commits list
-  - returns None but modifies the ns.commits list in place
-#}{%  macro apply_alphabetical_ordering_by_descriptions(ns)
+   MACRO: order commits alphabetically by scope and attribute
+   - Commits are sorted based on scope and then the attribute alphabetically
+   - Commits without scope are placed first and sorted alphabetically by the attribute
+   - parameter: ns (namespace) object with a commits list
+   - parameter: attr (string) attribute to sort by
+   - returns None but modifies the ns.commits list in place
+#}{%  macro order_commits_alphabetically_by_scope_and_attr(ns, attr)
 %}{%    set ordered_commits = []
 %}{#
    #    # Eliminate any ParseError commits from input set
 #}{%    set filtered_commits = ns.commits | rejectattr("error", "defined") | list
 %}{#
-   #    # grab all commits with no scope and sort alphabetically by the first line of the commit message
-#}{%    for commit in filtered_commits | rejectattr("scope") | sort(attribute='descriptions.0')
-%}{{      ordered_commits.append(commit) | default("", true)
-}}{%     endfor
+   #    # grab all commits with no scope and sort alphabetically by attr
+#}{%    for commit in filtered_commits | rejectattr("scope") | sort(attribute=attr)
+%}{%      set _ = ordered_commits.append(commit)
+%}{%     endfor
 %}{#
-   #    # grab all commits with a scope and sort alphabetically by the scope and then the first line of the commit message
-#}{%    for commit in filtered_commits | selectattr("scope") | sort(attribute='scope,descriptions.0')
-%}{{      ordered_commits.append(commit) | default("", true)
-}}{%    endfor
+   #    # grab all commits with a scope and sort alphabetically by the scope and then attr
+#}{%    for commit in filtered_commits | selectattr("scope") | sort(attribute=(['scope', attr] | join(",")))
+%}{%      set _ = ordered_commits.append(commit)
+%}{%    endfor
 %}{#
    #    # Return the ordered commits
 #}{%    set ns.commits = ordered_commits
@@ -174,6 +163,18 @@
 %}
 
 
+{#
+  MACRO: apply smart ordering of commits objects based on alphabetized summaries and then scopes
+  - Commits are sorted based on the commit type and the commit message
+  - Commits are grouped by the commit type
+  - parameter: ns (namespace) object with a commits list
+  - returns None but modifies the ns.commits list in place
+#}{%  macro apply_alphabetical_ordering_by_descriptions(ns)
+%}{%    set _ = order_commits_alphabetically_by_scope_and_attr(ns, 'descriptions.0')
+%}{%  endmacro
+%}
+
+
 {#
   MACRO: apply smart ordering of commits objects based on alphabetized breaking changes and then scopes
   - Commits are sorted based on the commit type and the commit message
@@ -181,23 +182,7 @@
   - parameter: ns (namespace) object with a commits list
   - returns None but modifies the ns.commits list in place
 #}{%  macro apply_alphabetical_ordering_by_brk_descriptions(ns)
-%}{%    set ordered_commits = []
-%}{#
-   #    # Eliminate any ParseError commits from input set
-#}{%    set filtered_commits = ns.commits | rejectattr("error", "defined") | list
-%}{#
-   #    # grab all commits with no scope and sort alphabetically by the first line of the commit message
-#}{%    for commit in filtered_commits | rejectattr("scope") | sort(attribute='breaking_descriptions.0')
-%}{{      ordered_commits.append(commit) | default("", true)
-}}{%     endfor
-%}{#
-   #    # grab all commits with a scope and sort alphabetically by the scope and then the first line of the commit message
-#}{%    for commit in filtered_commits | selectattr("scope") | sort(attribute='scope,breaking_descriptions.0')
-%}{{      ordered_commits.append(commit) | default("", true)
-}}{%    endfor
-%}{#
-   #    # Return the ordered commits
-#}{%    set ns.commits = ordered_commits
+%}{%    set _ = order_commits_alphabetically_by_scope_and_attr(ns, 'breaking_descriptions.0')
 %}{%  endmacro
 %}
 
@@ -209,22 +194,6 @@
   - parameter: ns (namespace) object with a commits list
   - returns None but modifies the ns.commits list in place
 #}{%  macro apply_alphabetical_ordering_by_release_notices(ns)
-%}{%    set ordered_commits = []
-%}{#
-   #    # Eliminate any ParseError commits from input set
-#}{%    set filtered_commits = ns.commits | rejectattr("error", "defined") | list
-%}{#
-   #    # grab all commits with no scope and sort alphabetically by the first line of the commit message
-#}{%    for commit in filtered_commits | rejectattr("scope") | sort(attribute='release_notices.0')
-%}{{      ordered_commits.append(commit) | default("", true)
-}}{%     endfor
-%}{#
-   #    # grab all commits with a scope and sort alphabetically by the scope and then the first line of the commit message
-#}{%    for commit in filtered_commits | selectattr("scope") | sort(attribute='scope,release_notices.0')
-%}{{      ordered_commits.append(commit) | default("", true)
-}}{%    endfor
-%}{#
-   #    # Return the ordered commits
-#}{%    set ns.commits = ordered_commits
+%}{%    set _ = order_commits_alphabetically_by_scope_and_attr(ns, 'release_notices.0')
 %}{%  endmacro
 %}
diff --git a/src/semantic_release/data/templates/conventional/rst/.components/macros.rst.j2 b/src/semantic_release/data/templates/conventional/rst/.components/macros.rst.j2
index f70043036..6fc7f90ff 100644
--- a/src/semantic_release/data/templates/conventional/rst/.components/macros.rst.j2
+++ b/src/semantic_release/data/templates/conventional/rst/.components/macros.rst.j2
@@ -1,3 +1,11 @@
+{#
+  MACRO: Capitalize the first letter of a string only
+#}{%  macro capitalize_first_letter_only(sentence)
+%}{{    (sentence[0] | upper) ~ sentence[1:]
+}}{%  endmacro
+%}
+
+
 {#
   MACRO: format a post-paragraph link reference in RST
 #}{%  macro format_link_reference(link, label)
@@ -6,6 +14,49 @@
 %}
 
 
+{# MACRO: generate a heading underline that matches the exact length of the header #}
+{%    macro generate_heading_underline(header, underline_char)
+%}{%    set header_underline = []
+%}{%    for _ in header
+%}{%      set __ = header_underline.append(underline_char)
+%}{%    endfor
+%}{#    # Print out the header underline
+#}{{    header_underline | join
+}}{%  endmacro
+%}
+
+
+{#
+  MACRO: formats a commit message for a non-inline RST link for a commit hash and/or PR/MR
+#}{%  macro commit_msg_links(commit)
+%}{%    if commit.error is undefined
+%}{#
+   #      # Initialize variables
+#}{%      set link_references = []
+%}{%      set summary_line = capitalize_first_letter_only(
+            commit.descriptions[0] | safe
+          )
+%}{#
+#}{%      if commit.linked_merge_request != ""
+%}{#        # Add PR/MR references with a link to the PR/MR
+#}{%        set _ = link_references.append("`%s`_" | format(commit.linked_merge_request))
+%}{%      endif
+%}{#
+          # DEFAULT: Always include the commit hash as a link
+#}{%      set _ = link_references.append("`%s`_" | format(commit.short_hash))
+%}{#
+#}{%      set formatted_links = ""
+%}{%      if link_references | length > 0
+%}{%        set formatted_links = " (%s)" | format(link_references | join(", "))
+%}{%      endif
+%}{#
+          # Return the modified summary_line
+#}{{      summary_line ~ formatted_links
+}}{%    endif
+%}{%  endmacro
+%}
+
+
 {#
   MACRO: format commit summary line
 #}{%  macro format_commit_summary_line(commit)
@@ -50,72 +101,21 @@
 
 
 {#
-  MACRO: formats a commit message for a non-inline RST link for a commit hash and/or PR/MR
-#}{%  macro commit_msg_links(commit, hvcs_type)
-%}{%    if commit.error is undefined
-%}{%      set commit_hash_link = "`%s`_" | format(commit.short_hash)
-%}{#
-#}{%      set summary_line = commit.descriptions[0] | safe
-%}{%      set summary_line = [
-            summary_line.split(" ", maxsplit=1)[0] | capitalize,
-            summary_line.split(" ", maxsplit=1)[1]
-          ] | join(" ")
-%}{#
-#}{%      if commit.linked_merge_request != ""
-%}{#        # Add PR references with a link to the PR
-#}{%        set pr_link = "`%s`_" | format(commit.linked_merge_request)
-%}{#
-   #        TODO: breaking change v10, remove summary line replacers as PSR will do it for us
-#}{%        set summary_line = summary_line | replace("(pull request ", "(") | replace("(" ~ commit.linked_merge_request ~ ")", "") | trim
-%}{%        set summary_line = "%s (%s, %s)" | format(
-              summary_line,
-              pr_link,
-              commit_hash_link,
-            )
-%}{#
-          # DEFAULT: No PR identifier found, so just append a commit hash as url to the commit summary_line
-#}{%      else
-%}{%        set summary_line = "%s (%s)" | format(summary_line, commit_hash_link)
-%}{%      endif
-%}{#
-          # Return the modified summary_line
-#}{{      summary_line
-}}{%    endif
-%}{%  endmacro
-%}
-
-
-{# MACRO: generate a heading underline that matches the exact length of the header #}
-{%    macro generate_heading_underline(header, underline_char)
-%}{%    set header_underline = []
-%}{%    for _ in header
-%}{{      header_underline.append(underline_char) | default("", true)
-}}{%    endfor
-%}{#    # Print out the header underline
-#}{{    header_underline | join
-}}{%  endmacro
-%}
-
-
-{#
-  MACRO: format the breaking changes description by:
-  - Capitalizing the description
+  MACRO: format a commit descriptions list by:
+  - Capitalizing the first line of the description
   - Adding an optional scope prefix
-#}{%  macro format_breaking_changes_description(commit)
-%}{%    set ns = namespace(full_description="")
+  - Joining the rest of the descriptions with a double newline
+#}{%  macro format_attr_paragraphs(commit, attribute)
+%}{#    NOTE: requires namespace because of the way Jinja2 handles variable scoping with loops
+#}{%    set ns = namespace(full_description="")
 %}{#
 #}{%    if commit.error is undefined
-%}{%      for paragraph in commit.breaking_descriptions
+%}{%      for paragraph in commit | attr(attribute)
 %}{%        if paragraph | trim | length > 0
 %}{#
-#}{%          set paragraph_text = [
-                paragraph.split(" ", maxsplit=1)[0] | capitalize,
-                paragraph.split(" ", maxsplit=1)[1]
-              ] | join(" ") | trim | safe
-%}{#
 #}{%          set ns.full_description = [
                 ns.full_description,
-                paragraph_text
+                capitalize_first_letter_only(paragraph) | trim | safe,
               ] | join("\n\n")
 %}{#
 #}{%        endif
@@ -135,65 +135,48 @@
 %}
 
 
+{#
+  MACRO: format the breaking changes description by:
+  - Capitalizing the description
+  - Adding an optional scope prefix
+#}{%  macro format_breaking_changes_description(commit)
+%}{{    format_attr_paragraphs(commit, 'breaking_descriptions')
+}}{%  endmacro
+%}
+
+
 {#
   MACRO: format the release notice by:
   - Capitalizing the description
   - Adding an optional scope prefix
 #}{%  macro format_release_notice(commit)
-%}{%    set ns = namespace(full_description="")
-%}{#
-#}{%    if commit.error is undefined
-%}{%      for paragraph in commit.release_notices
-%}{%        if paragraph | trim | length > 0
-%}{#
-#}{%          set paragraph_text = [
-                paragraph.split(" ", maxsplit=1)[0] | capitalize,
-                paragraph.split(" ", maxsplit=1)[1]
-              ] | join(" ") | trim | safe
-%}{#
-#}{%          set ns.full_description = [
-                ns.full_description,
-                paragraph_text
-              ] | join("\n\n")
-%}{#
-#}{%        endif
-%}{%      endfor
-%}{#
-#}{%      set ns.full_description = ns.full_description | trim
-%}{#
-#}{%      if commit.scope
-%}{%        set ns.full_description = "**%s**: %s" | format(
-              commit.scope, ns.full_description
-            )
-%}{%      endif
-%}{%    endif
-%}{#
-#}{{    ns.full_description
+%}{{    format_attr_paragraphs(commit, "release_notices")
 }}{%  endmacro
 %}
 
 
 {#
-  MACRO: apply smart ordering of commits objects based on alphabetized summaries and then scopes
-  - Commits are sorted based on the commit type and the commit message
-  - Commits are grouped by the commit type
-  - parameter: ns (namespace) object with a commits list
-  - returns None but modifies the ns.commits list in place
-#}{%  macro apply_alphabetical_ordering_by_descriptions(ns)
+   MACRO: order commits alphabetically by scope and attribute
+   - Commits are sorted based on scope and then the attribute alphabetically
+   - Commits without scope are placed first and sorted alphabetically by the attribute
+   - parameter: ns (namespace) object with a commits list
+   - parameter: attr (string) attribute to sort by
+   - returns None but modifies the ns.commits list in place
+#}{%  macro order_commits_alphabetically_by_scope_and_attr(ns, attr)
 %}{%    set ordered_commits = []
 %}{#
    #    # Eliminate any ParseError commits from input set
 #}{%    set filtered_commits = ns.commits | rejectattr("error", "defined") | list
 %}{#
-   #    # grab all commits with no scope and sort alphabetically by the first line of the commit message
-#}{%    for commit in filtered_commits | rejectattr("scope") | sort(attribute='descriptions.0')
-%}{{      ordered_commits.append(commit) | default("", true)
-}}{%     endfor
+   #    # grab all commits with no scope and sort alphabetically by attr
+#}{%    for commit in filtered_commits | rejectattr("scope") | sort(attribute=attr)
+%}{%      set _ = ordered_commits.append(commit)
+%}{%     endfor
 %}{#
-   #    # grab all commits with a scope and sort alphabetically by the scope and then the first line of the commit message
-#}{%    for commit in filtered_commits | selectattr("scope") | sort(attribute='scope,descriptions.0')
-%}{{      ordered_commits.append(commit) | default("", true)
-}}{%    endfor
+   #    # grab all commits with a scope and sort alphabetically by the scope and then attr
+#}{%    for commit in filtered_commits | selectattr("scope") | sort(attribute=(['scope', attr] | join(",")))
+%}{%      set _ = ordered_commits.append(commit)
+%}{%    endfor
 %}{#
    #    # Return the ordered commits
 #}{%    set ns.commits = ordered_commits
@@ -201,6 +184,18 @@
 %}
 
 
+{#
+  MACRO: apply smart ordering of commits objects based on alphabetized summaries and then scopes
+  - Commits are sorted based on the commit type and the commit message
+  - Commits are grouped by the commit type
+  - parameter: ns (namespace) object with a commits list
+  - returns None but modifies the ns.commits list in place
+#}{%  macro apply_alphabetical_ordering_by_descriptions(ns)
+%}{%    set _ = order_commits_alphabetically_by_scope_and_attr(ns, 'descriptions.0')
+%}{%  endmacro
+%}
+
+
 {#
   MACRO: apply smart ordering of commits objects based on alphabetized breaking changes and then scopes
   - Commits are sorted based on the commit type and the commit message
@@ -208,23 +203,7 @@
   - parameter: ns (namespace) object with a commits list
   - returns None but modifies the ns.commits list in place
 #}{%  macro apply_alphabetical_ordering_by_brk_descriptions(ns)
-%}{%    set ordered_commits = []
-%}{#
-   #    # Eliminate any ParseError commits from input set
-#}{%    set filtered_commits = ns.commits | rejectattr("error", "defined") | list
-%}{#
-   #    # grab all commits with no scope and sort alphabetically by the first line of the commit message
-#}{%    for commit in filtered_commits | rejectattr("scope") | sort(attribute='breaking_descriptions.0')
-%}{{      ordered_commits.append(commit) | default("", true)
-}}{%     endfor
-%}{#
-   #    # grab all commits with a scope and sort alphabetically by the scope and then the first line of the commit message
-#}{%    for commit in filtered_commits | selectattr("scope") | sort(attribute='scope,breaking_descriptions.0')
-%}{{      ordered_commits.append(commit) | default("", true)
-}}{%    endfor
-%}{#
-   #    # Return the ordered commits
-#}{%    set ns.commits = ordered_commits
+%}{%    set _ = order_commits_alphabetically_by_scope_and_attr(ns, 'breaking_descriptions.0')
 %}{%  endmacro
 %}
 
@@ -236,22 +215,6 @@
   - parameter: ns (namespace) object with a commits list
   - returns None but modifies the ns.commits list in place
 #}{%  macro apply_alphabetical_ordering_by_release_notices(ns)
-%}{%    set ordered_commits = []
-%}{#
-   #    # Eliminate any ParseError commits from input set
-#}{%    set filtered_commits = ns.commits | rejectattr("error", "defined") | list
-%}{#
-   #    # grab all commits with no scope and sort alphabetically by the first line of the commit message
-#}{%    for commit in filtered_commits | rejectattr("scope") | sort(attribute='release_notices.0')
-%}{{      ordered_commits.append(commit) | default("", true)
-}}{%     endfor
-%}{#
-   #    # grab all commits with a scope and sort alphabetically by the scope and then the first line of the commit message
-#}{%    for commit in filtered_commits | selectattr("scope") | sort(attribute='scope,release_notices.0')
-%}{{      ordered_commits.append(commit) | default("", true)
-}}{%    endfor
-%}{#
-   #    # Return the ordered commits
-#}{%    set ns.commits = ordered_commits
+%}{%    set _ = order_commits_alphabetically_by_scope_and_attr(ns, 'release_notices.0')
 %}{%  endmacro
 %}