diff --git a/Doc/library/exceptions.rst b/Doc/library/exceptions.rst
index 17a0fed..fb3ae94 100644
--- a/Doc/library/exceptions.rst
+++ b/Doc/library/exceptions.rst
@@ -28,10 +28,10 @@
 built-in functions.  Except where mentioned, they have an "associated value"
 indicating the detailed cause of the error. This may be a string or a tuple
 containing several items of information (e.g., an error code and a string
-explaining the code). The associated value is the second argument to the
-:keyword:`raise` statement.  If the exception class is derived from the standard
-root class :exc:`BaseException`, the associated value is present as the
-exception instance's :attr:`args` attribute.
+explaining the code).  The associated value is usually passed to the exception
+class's constructor.  If the exception class is derived from the standard root
+class :exc:`BaseException`, the associated value is present as the exception
+instance's :attr:`args` attribute.
 
 User code can raise built-in exceptions.  This can be used to test an exception
 handler or to report an error condition "just like" the situation in which the