## CSS Is Just Instructions Every CSS instruction follows the same pattern: ```css selector { property: value; } ``` That is it. Every piece of CSS you will ever see is some variation of this pattern. Let's break it down: - **Selector** — *which* elements to change (the target) - **Property** — *what* to change about them - **Value** — *how* to change it ### Reading CSS out loud The single best trick for reading CSS is to translate it into a sentence: ```css h1 { color: blue; } ``` > "For all `h1` elements, set the color to blue." ```css p { font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 12px; } ``` > "For all paragraphs, set the font size to 18 pixels and the bottom margin to 12 pixels." Once you can do this, you can read any CSS. The selectors and properties might get more specific, but the pattern never changes. ### Where CSS lives CSS can appear in three places: **1. External stylesheet** (most common in real projects) ```html ``` The CSS lives in a separate `.css` file. This is how most real websites work — keeps things organized. **2. Style tag** (in the HTML file) ```html ``` The CSS is written directly in the HTML document, inside `

2.1 CSS Is Just Instructions