diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 2ff0db6..5d9e1e8 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -1,9 +1,24 @@
 # Contributor Guidelines
 
+### 1. External Contributors 
+
+If you would like to propose an update or report a bug to `PyPunisher`, please check out the repo's [issues](https://github.com/UBC-MDS/PyPunisher/issues) to see if it's in our backlog. You can create a new issue to report the bug (use `bug` label), to ask a question (use `question` label), or to propose an update to enhance the code (use `enhancement` label). 
+
+To contribute to `PyPunisher`, you must fork the repo and make changes in the forked version:
+
+```
+https://github.com/yourusername/PyPunisher
+```
+
+Please follow the [Google style guides](http://sphinxcontrib-napoleon.readthedocs.io/en/latest/example_google.html) for Python doc strings.
+
+Once you have made all of your proposed updates, submit a **pull request** and reference the appropriate `issue` that you have tackled.
+
+
+### 2. Core Contributors
+
 - All contributors should work locally and push into their *own-dev* branch.
 
 - When a contributor wants to merge with the *master* branch, they should create a pull request and assign it to a fellow contributor for verifying.
 
 - The user who created the pull request should not merge the request with the *master* branch.
-
-- Follow the [Google style guides ](http://sphinxcontrib-napoleon.readthedocs.io/en/latest/example_google.html)for R and Python doc strings.