diff --git a/README.rst b/README.rst
index ff03015..60ebffe 100644
--- a/README.rst
+++ b/README.rst
@@ -60,6 +60,8 @@ The first argument is always the value you want to validate.
 The second argument is always the OpenAPI schema object.
 The ``cls`` keyword argument is optional and defaults to ``OAS32Validator``.
 Use ``cls`` when you need a specific validator version/behavior.
+Common forwarded keyword arguments include ``registry`` (reference context)
+and ``format_checker`` (format validation behavior).
 
 To validate an OpenAPI schema:
 
diff --git a/docs/references.rst b/docs/references.rst
index c6bc1f8..f446bda 100644
--- a/docs/references.rst
+++ b/docs/references.rst
@@ -1,7 +1,9 @@
 References
 ==========
 
-You can resolve JSON Schema references by passing registry
+You can resolve JSON Schema references by passing registry.
+The ``validate(instance, schema, ...)`` shortcut resolves local references
+(``#/...``) against the provided ``schema`` mapping.
 
 .. code-block:: python
 
diff --git a/docs/validation.rst b/docs/validation.rst
index 5470407..f30c61e 100644
--- a/docs/validation.rst
+++ b/docs/validation.rst
@@ -16,6 +16,10 @@ The first argument is always the value you want to validate.
 The second argument is always the OpenAPI schema object.
 The ``cls`` keyword argument is optional and defaults to ``OAS32Validator``.
 Use ``cls`` when you need a specific validator version/behavior.
+Common forwarded keyword arguments include:
+
+- ``registry`` for reference resolution context
+- ``format_checker`` to control format validation behavior
 
 To validate an OpenAPI schema:
 
@@ -74,9 +78,13 @@ Common pitfalls
   ``validate(schema, instance)``
 - ``validate`` does not load files from a path; load your OpenAPI document
   first and pass the parsed schema mapping
-- when validating a schema fragment that uses ``$ref`` (for example,
-  ``paths/.../responses/.../schema``), provide reference context via
-  ``registry=...`` as shown in :doc:`references`
+- ``validate`` treats the provided ``schema`` as the reference root; local
+  references like ``#/components/...`` must exist within that mapping
+- when a schema uses external references (for example ``urn:...``), provide
+  reference context via ``registry=...`` as shown in :doc:`references`
+- for schema fragments containing local references (for example,
+  ``paths/.../responses/.../schema``), use a validator built from the full
+  schema root and then validate the fragment via ``validator.evolve(...)``
 
 Validators
 ----------
diff --git a/openapi_schema_validator/shortcuts.py b/openapi_schema_validator/shortcuts.py
index 9d796b4..3ab498f 100644
--- a/openapi_schema_validator/shortcuts.py
+++ b/openapi_schema_validator/shortcuts.py
@@ -29,10 +29,12 @@ def validate(
 
     Args:
         instance: Value to validate against ``schema``.
-        schema: OpenAPI schema mapping used for validation.
+        schema: OpenAPI schema mapping used for validation. Local references
+            (``#/...``) are resolved against this mapping.
         cls: Validator class to use. Defaults to ``OAS32Validator``.
         *args: Positional arguments forwarded to ``cls`` constructor.
-        **kwargs: Keyword arguments forwarded to ``cls`` constructor.
+        **kwargs: Keyword arguments forwarded to ``cls`` constructor
+            (for example ``registry`` and ``format_checker``).
 
     Raises:
         jsonschema.exceptions.SchemaError: If ``schema`` is invalid.