diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index fe195b4aa9..7b927307f4 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -404,7 +404,7 @@ $ git config --add 'notes.displayref' 'refs/notes/bugs'
 For example, set notes with
 
 ```
-$ git notes --ref refs/notes/bugs add -m "(cherry picked from $COMMIT_SHA)" HEAD
+$ git notes --ref refs/notes/bugs add -m "(cherry picked from commit $COMMIT_SHA)" HEAD
 ```
 
 You should see the notes in git-log output as well.