diff --git a/R/theme-elements.R b/R/theme-elements.R
index 947e4e0af3..06f1d9fd37 100644
--- a/R/theme-elements.R
+++ b/R/theme-elements.R
@@ -14,8 +14,10 @@
 #' `margin()`, `margin_part()` and `margin_auto()` are all used to specify the
 #' margins of elements.
 #'
-#' @param fill Fill colour.
+#' @param fill Fill colour. `fill_alpha()` can be used to set the transparency
+#'   of the fill.
 #' @param colour,color Line/border colour. Color is an alias for colour.
+#'   `alpha()` can be used to set the transparency of the colour.
 #' @param linewidth,borderwidth Line/border size in mm.
 #' @param size,fontsize text size in pts.
 #' @param arrow.fill Fill colour for arrows.
@@ -26,17 +28,21 @@
 #'   calculating final element state.
 #' @return An S3 object of class `element`, `rel`, or `margin`.
 #' @examples
+#' # A standard plot
 #' plot <- ggplot(mpg, aes(displ, hwy)) + geom_point()
 #'
+#' # Turning off theme elements by setting them to blank
 #' plot + theme(
 #'   panel.background = element_blank(),
 #'   axis.text = element_blank()
 #' )
 #'
+#' # Text adjustments
 #' plot + theme(
 #'   axis.text = element_text(colour = "red", size = rel(1.5))
 #' )
 #'
+#' # Turning on the axis line with an arrow
 #' plot + theme(
 #'   axis.line = element_line(arrow = arrow())
 #' )
diff --git a/man/element.Rd b/man/element.Rd
index c43fadfed2..041bf794f5 100644
--- a/man/element.Rd
+++ b/man/element.Rd
@@ -74,9 +74,11 @@ margin_part(t = NA, r = NA, b = NA, l = NA, unit = "pt")
 margin_auto(t = 0, r = t, b = t, l = r, unit = "pt")
 }
 \arguments{
-\item{fill}{Fill colour.}
+\item{fill}{Fill colour. \code{fill_alpha()} can be used to set the transparency
+of the fill.}
 
-\item{colour, color}{Line/border colour. Color is an alias for colour.}
+\item{colour, color}{Line/border colour. Color is an alias for colour.
+\code{alpha()} can be used to set the transparency of the colour.}
 
 \item{linewidth, borderwidth}{Line/border size in mm.}
 
@@ -155,17 +157,21 @@ specify the display of how non-data components of the plot are drawn.
 margins of elements.
 }
 \examples{
+# A standard plot
 plot <- ggplot(mpg, aes(displ, hwy)) + geom_point()
 
+# Turning off theme elements by setting them to blank
 plot + theme(
   panel.background = element_blank(),
   axis.text = element_blank()
 )
 
+# Text adjustments
 plot + theme(
   axis.text = element_text(colour = "red", size = rel(1.5))
 )
 
+# Turning on the axis line with an arrow
 plot + theme(
   axis.line = element_line(arrow = arrow())
 )