diff --git a/reference/var/functions/debug-zval-dump.xml b/reference/var/functions/debug-zval-dump.xml
index 25002e4177..69137282c0 100644
--- a/reference/var/functions/debug-zval-dump.xml
+++ b/reference/var/functions/debug-zval-dump.xml
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 <refentry xml:id="function.debug-zval-dump" xmlns="http://docbook.org/ns/docbook" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">
  <refnamediv>
   <refname>debug_zval_dump</refname>
-  <refpurpose>Dumps a string representation of an internal zend value to output</refpurpose>
+  <refpurpose>Dumps a string representation of an internal zval structure to output</refpurpose>
  </refnamediv>
  <refsect1 role="description">
   &reftitle.description;
@@ -13,7 +13,9 @@
    <methodparam rep="repeat"><type>mixed</type><parameter>values</parameter></methodparam>
   </methodsynopsis>
   <para>
-   Dumps a string representation of an internal zend value to output.
+   Dumps a string representation of an internal zval (Zend value) structure to output.
+   This is mostly useful for understanding or debugging implementation details of the
+   Zend Engine or PHP extensions.
   </para>
  </refsect1>
  <refsect1 role="parameters">
@@ -24,7 +26,7 @@
      <term><parameter>value</parameter></term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
-       The variable to dump.
+       The variable or value to dump.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>
@@ -32,7 +34,7 @@
      <term><parameter>values</parameter></term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
-       Further variables to dump.
+       Further variables or values to dump.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>
@@ -53,36 +55,60 @@
     <programlisting role="php">
 <![CDATA[
 <?php
-$var1 = 'Hello World';
-$var2 = '';
+$var1 = 'Hello';
+$var1 .= ' World';
+$var2 = $var1;
 
-$var2 =& $var1;
-
-debug_zval_dump(&$var1);
+debug_zval_dump($var1);
 ?>
 ]]>
     </programlisting>
     &example.outputs;
     <screen>
 <![CDATA[
-&string(11) "Hello World" refcount(3)
+string(11) "Hello World" refcount(3)
 ]]>
     </screen>
    </example>
   </para>
   <note>
-   <title>Beware the <literal>refcount</literal></title>
+   <title>Understanding the <literal>refcount</literal></title>
    <para>
-    The <literal>refcount</literal> value returned by this function is
-    non-obvious in certain circumstances. For example, a developer might
-    expect the above example to indicate a <literal>refcount</literal> of
-    <literal>2</literal>. The third reference is created when actually
-    calling <function>debug_zval_dump</function>.
+    The <literal>refcount</literal> value shown by this function may be
+    surprising without a detailed understanding of the engine's implementation.
    </para>
    <para>
-    This behavior is further compounded when a variable is not passed to
-    <function>debug_zval_dump</function> by reference. To illustrate, consider
-    a slightly modified version of the above example:
+    The Zend Engine uses reference counting for two different purposes:
+   </para>
+   <para>
+    <simplelist>
+     <member>
+      Optimizing memory usage using a technique called "copy on write",
+      where multiple variables holding the same value point to the same copy
+      in memory. When any of the variables is modified, it is pointed to a new
+      copy in memory, and the reference count on the original is decreased by 1.
+     </member>
+     <member>
+      Tracking variables which have been assigned or passed by reference (see
+      <link linkend="language.references">References Explained</link>). This
+      refcount is stored on a separate reference zval, pointing to the zval
+      for the current value. This additional zval is not currently shown by
+      <function>debug_zval_dump</function>.
+     </member>
+    </simplelist>
+   </para>
+   <para>
+    Because <function>debug_zval_dump</function> takes its input as normal
+    parameters, passed by value, the copy on write technique will be used
+    to pass them: rather than copying the data, the refcount will be increased
+    by one for the lifetime of the function call. If the function modified the
+    parameter after receiving it, then a copy would be made; since it does not,
+    it will show a refcount one higher than in the calling scope.
+   </para>
+   <para>
+    The parameter passing also prevents <function>debug_zval_dump</function>
+    showing variables which have been assigned by reference. To illustrate,
+    consider a slightly modified version of the above example:
    </para>
    <para>
     <example>
@@ -90,39 +116,11 @@ debug_zval_dump(&$var1);
      <programlisting role="php">
 <![CDATA[
 <?php
-$var1 = 'Hello World';
-$var2 = '';
-
+$var1 = 'Hello';
+$var1 .= ' World';
+// Point three variables as references to the same value
 $var2 =& $var1;
-
-debug_zval_dump($var1); // not passed by reference, this time
-?>
-]]>
-     </programlisting>
-     &example.outputs;
-     <screen>
-<![CDATA[
-string(11) "Hello World" refcount(1)
-]]>
-     </screen>
-    </example>
-   </para>
-   <para>
-    Why <literal>refcount(1)</literal>? Because a copy of <literal>$var1</literal> is
-    being made, when the function is called.
-   </para>
-   <para>
-    This function becomes even <emphasis>more</emphasis> confusing when a
-    variable with a <literal>refcount</literal> of <literal>1</literal> is
-    passed (by copy/value):
-   </para>
-   <para>
-    <example>
-     <title/>
-     <programlisting role="php">
-<![CDATA[
-<?php
-$var1 = 'Hello World';
+$var3 =& $var1;
 
 debug_zval_dump($var1);
 ?>
@@ -137,25 +135,18 @@ string(11) "Hello World" refcount(2)
     </example>
    </para>
    <para>
-    A <literal>refcount</literal> of <literal>2</literal>, here, is extremely
-    non-obvious. Especially considering the above examples. So what's
-    happening?
+    Although <varname>$var1</varname>, <varname>$var2</varname>, and
+    <varname>$var3</varname> are linked as references, only the
+    <emphasis>value</emphasis> is passed to <function>debug_zval_dump</function>.
+    That value is used once by the set of references, and once inside the
+    <function>debug_zval_dump</function>, so shows a refcount of 2.
    </para>
    <para>
-    When a variable has a single reference (as did <literal>$var1</literal>
-    before it was used as an argument to <function>debug_zval_dump</function>),
-    PHP's engine optimizes the manner in which it is passed to a function.
-    Internally, PHP treats <literal>$var1</literal> like a reference (in that
-    the <literal>refcount</literal> is increased for the scope of this
-    function), with the caveat that <emphasis>if</emphasis> the passed reference
-    happens to be written to, a copy is made, but only at the moment of
-    writing. This is known as "copy on write."
-   </para>
-   <para>
-    So, if <function>debug_zval_dump</function> happened to write to its sole
-    parameter (and it doesn't), then a copy would be made. Until then, the
-    parameter remains a reference, causing the <literal>refcount</literal> to
-    be incremented to <literal>2</literal> for the scope of the function call.
+    Further complications arise because of optimisations made in the engine for
+    different data types. Some types such as integers do not use "copy on write",
+    so do not show a refcount at all. In other cases, the refcount shows extra
+    copies used internally, such as when a literal string or array is stored as
+    part of a code instruction.
    </para>
   </note>
  </refsect1>