diff --git a/cmd/root.go b/cmd/root.go
index 7f6baca..6f3e96c 100644
--- a/cmd/root.go
+++ b/cmd/root.go
@@ -166,7 +166,7 @@ func init() {
 
 	rootCmd.Flags().BoolVar(&oneline, "oneline", false, "output on one line")
 
-	rootCmd.Flags().StringVar(&weightAttr, "weight-attr", "", "edge attribute to use as weight")
+	rootCmd.Flags().StringVarP(&weightAttr, "weight-attr", "w", "", "edge attribute to use as weight")
 
-	rootCmd.Flags().StringSliceVarP(&nodeOrder, "order", "o", nil, "order of nodes in rows/columns of output")
+	rootCmd.Flags().StringSliceVarP(&nodeOrder, "order", "o", nil, "list the graph node names in the order they should be placed in the matrix")
 }