Even with well aligned modern diffractometers, the wide‐range diffraction patterns of diffusely scattering materials are distorted owing to factors associated with finite specimen length, strong Compton scattering, high X‐ray transparency causing asymmetric broadening and displacement of interference maxima towards smaller angles, and possibly small‐angle scattering. The small‐angle scattering can extend far enough to overlap the first interference maximum and the peak displacement can lead to significantd‐spacing errors. Simple methods of correcting for these distortions are presented. These corrections are especially important in situations where overlapping peaks ar