diff --git a/modules/ve-mw/preinit/ve.init.mw.DesktopArticleTarget.init.js b/modules/ve-mw/preinit/ve.init.mw.DesktopArticleTarget.init.js
index b8c5214776..e6996c2784 100644
--- a/modules/ve-mw/preinit/ve.init.mw.DesktopArticleTarget.init.js
+++ b/modules/ve-mw/preinit/ve.init.mw.DesktopArticleTarget.init.js
@@ -97,13 +97,13 @@
 	}
 
 	function setupTempWikitextEditor( data ) {
-		var content = data.content;
+		var wikitext = data.content;
 		// Add trailing linebreak to non-empty wikitext documents for consistency
 		// with old editor and usability. Will be stripped on save. T156609
-		if ( content ) {
-			content += '\n';
+		if ( wikitext ) {
+			wikitext += '\n';
 		}
-		tempWikitextEditor = new mw.libs.ve.MWTempWikitextEditorWidget( { value: content } );
+		tempWikitextEditor = new mw.libs.ve.MWTempWikitextEditorWidget( { value: wikitext } );
 		tempWikitextEditorData = data;
 
 		// Create an equal-height placeholder for the toolbar to avoid vertical jump
@@ -132,17 +132,17 @@
 	}
 
 	function syncTempWikitextEditor() {
-		var newContent = tempWikitextEditor.getValue();
+		var wikitext = tempWikitextEditor.getValue();
 
 		// Strip trailing linebreak. Will get re-added in ArticleTarget#parseDocument.
-		if ( newContent.slice( -1 ) === '\n' ) {
-			newContent = newContent.slice( 0, -1 );
+		if ( wikitext.slice( -1 ) === '\n' ) {
+			wikitext = wikitext.slice( 0, -1 );
 		}
 
-		if ( newContent !== tempWikitextEditorData.content ) {
+		if ( wikitext !== tempWikitextEditorData.content ) {
 			// Write changes back to response data object,
 			// which will be used to construct the surface.
-			tempWikitextEditorData.content = newContent;
+			tempWikitextEditorData.content = wikitext;
 			// TODO: Consider writing changes using a
 			// transaction so they can be undone.
 			// For now, just mark surface as pre-modified
diff --git a/modules/ve-mw/preinit/ve.init.mw.TempWikitextEditorWidget.js b/modules/ve-mw/preinit/ve.init.mw.TempWikitextEditorWidget.js
index 577d4d74f1..76803e8a42 100644
--- a/modules/ve-mw/preinit/ve.init.mw.TempWikitextEditorWidget.js
+++ b/modules/ve-mw/preinit/ve.init.mw.TempWikitextEditorWidget.js
@@ -13,22 +13,20 @@ mw.libs.ve = mw.libs.ve || {};
  * This widget can be used to show the user a basic editing interface
  * while VE libraries are still loading.
  *
- * It has a similar API to OO.ui.TextInputWidget, but is designed to
+ * It has a similar API to OO.ui.InputWidget, but is designed to
  * be loaded before any core VE code or dependencies, e.g. OOUI.
  *
  * @class
  *
  * @constructor
- * @param {Object} [config] Configuration options
- * @cfg {string} [value] Initial value
+ * @param {Object} config Configuration options
+ * @cfg {string} value Raw wikitext to edit
  */
 mw.libs.ve.MWTempWikitextEditorWidget = function VeUiMwTempWikitextEditorWidget( config ) {
 	var conf = mw.config.get( 'wgVisualEditor' ),
 		dir = conf.pageLanguageDir,
 		lang = conf.pageLanguageCode;
 
-	config = config || {};
-
 	this.$element = $( '<textarea>' )
 		.addClass( 've-init-mw-tempWikitextEditorWidget ' )
 		// The following classes are used here:
@@ -84,9 +82,7 @@ mw.libs.ve.MWTempWikitextEditorWidget.prototype.focus = function () {
 };
 
 /**
- * Get the input value
- *
- * @return {string} Value
+ * @return {string} Raw, possibly edited wikitext
  */
 mw.libs.ve.MWTempWikitextEditorWidget.prototype.getValue = function () {
 	return this.$element.val();