Markdown Mastery: Formatting for Communication

What is Markdown?

Markdown is a lightweight markup language for formatting text:

• Easy to read in source form


• Converts to HTML


• Widely supported


• Perfect for documentation

Basic Formatting

Emphasis

*italic* or _italic_
**bold** or __bold__
***bold italic*** or ___bold italic___
~~strikethrough~~

Headers

# H1 - Main Title
## H2 - Section
### H3 - Subsection
#### H4 - Sub-subsection
##### H5
###### H6

Paragraphs

Separate paragraphs with blank lines:

First paragraph.

Second paragraph.

Line Breaks

Two spaces at end of line, or
:

Line one  
Line two

Lists

Unordered Lists

- Item 1
- Item 2
  - Nested item
  - Another nested
- Item 3

Or with * or +:

* Item 1
* Item 2

Ordered Lists

1. First item
2. Second item
3. Third item
   1. Nested first
   2. Nested second

Task Lists

- [x] Completed task
- [ ] Incomplete task
- [ ] Another todo

Links and Images

Links

[Link text](https://example.com)
[Link with title](https://example.com "Title")
<https://example.com>  <!-- Auto-linked -->

Reference Links

[Link text][ref]

[ref]: https://example.com

Images

![Alt text](image.png)
![Alt text](image.png "Title")

Code

Inline Code

Use `backticks` for inline code.

Code Blocks

__CODE_BLOCK_12__python def hello(): print("Hello, world!") __CODE_BLOCK_13__

No Language (Plain)

__CODE_BLOCK_14__ Plain text code block __CODE_BLOCK_15__

Blockquotes

> This is a quote.
> It can span multiple lines.

> Nested quotes:
>> Second level
>>> Third level

Tables

| Header 1 | Header 2 | Header 3 |
|----------|----------|----------|
| Cell 1   | Cell 2   | Cell 3   |
| Cell 4   | Cell 5   | Cell 6   |

Alignment

| Left | Center | Right |
|:-----|:------:|------:|
| L    |   C    |     R |

Horizontal Rules

---
***
___

Extended Syntax

Footnotes

Here's a sentence with a footnote.[^1]

[^1]: This is the footnote content.

Definition Lists

Term
: Definition

Another term
: Another definition

Emoji

:smile: :rocket: :thumbsup:

Math (LaTeX)

Inline: $E = mc^2$

Block:
$
\sum_{i=1}^{n} x_i = x_1 + x_2 + ... + x_n
$

Platform Differences

GitHub Flavored Markdown (GFM)

Supports:

• Task lists


• Tables


• Strikethrough


• Auto-linking


• Emoji shortcodes

Discord

Supports:

• Basic formatting


• Code blocks


• Spoilers: ||hidden text||


• No tables


• No headers in messages

Slack

*bold* (not **)
_italic_
~strikethrough~
`code`

code block

> quote

WhatsApp/Telegram

Limited markdown:

• Bold: *text*


• Italic: _text_


• Strikethrough: ~text~


• Monospace: `` text __CODE_BLOCK_26__markdown # Main Topic Introduction paragraph. ## First Section Content here. ### Subsection More specific content. ## Second Section More content. __CODE_BLOCK_27__markdown ✅ All dashes: - Item 1 - Item 2 - Item 3 ❌ Mixed: - Item 1 * Item 2 + Item 3 __CODE_BLOCK_28__markdown

✅

code here

❌

code here

__CODE_BLOCK_31__markdown ✅ Check out the [documentation](https://docs.example.com) ❌ Check out https://docs.example.com/really/long/path/to/docs __CODE_BLOCK_32__markdown # Project Name Brief description. ## Installation __CODE_BLOCK_33__ ## Usage __CODE_BLOCK_34__ ## API ### function(param) Description. ## License MIT __CODE_BLOCK_35__markdown # Feature Name ## Overview What this feature does. ## Getting Started Prerequisites and setup. ## Examples ### Basic Example __CODE_BLOCK_36__ ### Advanced Example __CODE_BLOCK_37__ ## Reference Detailed API/options. ## Troubleshooting Common issues and solutions. __CODE_BLOCK_38__markdown ## 2025-02-01 ### Key Events - Completed project X - Decision: chose approach Y ### Learnings - Pattern Z works well for this case ### TODO - [ ] Follow up on A - [ ] Research B __CODE_BLOCK_39__markdown \*not italic\* \# not a header \[not a link\] \not code\ __CODE_BLOCK_40__bash markdownlint document.md __CODE_BLOCK_41__bash # To HTML pandoc document.md -o document.html # To PDF pandoc document.md -o document.pdf ``

Conclusion

Markdown is essential for:

• Documentation


• Communication


• Note-taking


• Content creation

Master it for clear, structured writing.

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Next: Effective Communication - Beyond formatting