diff --git a/.github/CONTRIBUTING.md b/.github/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 209439aa1..68af70bc3 100644
--- a/.github/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/.github/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -1,17 +1,36 @@
-## Can I have feature X
+# Contributing
 
-Before you do a feature request please check and make sure that it isn't possible
-through some other means. The JavaScript enabled console is a powerful feature
-in the right hands. Please check our [Wiki page](https://github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/wiki) for more info
-and help.
-
-## Contributing
-Thank you for your interest in contributing to Quorum!
+Thank you for your interest in contributing to Quorum! 
+We welcome contributions from anyone on the internet, and are grateful for even the 
+smallest of fixes!
 
 If you'd like to contribute to go-ethereum please fork, fix, commit and
 send a pull request. Commits which do not comply with the coding standards
-are ignored (use gofmt!).
+are ignored.
 
-See [Developers' Guide](https://github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/wiki/Developers'-Guide)
-for more details on configuring your environment, testing, and
-dependency management.
+## Coding guidelines
+
+Please make sure your contributions adhere to our coding guidelines:
+
+ * Code must adhere to the official Go 
+[formatting](https://golang.org/doc/effective_go.html#formatting) guidelines 
+(i.e. uses [gofmt](https://golang.org/cmd/gofmt/)).
+ * Code must be documented adhering to the official Go 
+[commentary](https://golang.org/doc/effective_go.html#commentary) guidelines.
+ * Pull requests need to be based on and opened against the `master` branch.
+ * Commit messages should be prefixed with the package(s) they modify.
+   * E.g. "eth, rpc: make trace configs optional"
+
+## Can I have feature X
+
+Before you submit a feature request, please check and make sure that it isn't 
+possible through some other means. The JavaScript-enabled console is a powerful 
+feature in the right hands. Please check our 
+[Wiki page](https://github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/wiki) for more info
+and help.
+
+## Configuration, dependencies, and tests
+
+Please see the [Developers' Guide](https://github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/wiki/Developers'-Guide)
+for more details on configuring your environment, managing project dependencies
+and testing procedures.