diff --git a/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md b/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
index 51816d47b3089..c9aaf9b71608b 100644
--- a/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
+++ b/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
@@ -1 +1 @@
-By submitting this pull request, I confirm that my contribution is made under the terms of the [Apache-2.0](https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0) license.
+By submitting this pull request, I confirm that my contribution is made under the terms of the Apache-2.0 license.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index efc47183efaae..8c9bfba81a1e3 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,76 +1,96 @@
 # AWS Cloud Development Kit (AWS CDK)
 
 ![Build Status](https://codebuild.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/badges?uuid=eyJlbmNyeXB0ZWREYXRhIjoiRUlEQk1UWVhQRDduSy9iWWtpa012bmJSU0t2aXpCeEtTT2VpWDhlVmxldVU0ZXBoSzRpdTk1cGNNTThUaUtYVU5BMVZnd1ZhT2FTMWZjNkZ0RE5hSlpNPSIsIml2UGFyYW1ldGVyU3BlYyI6IllIUjJNUEZKY3NqYnR6S3EiLCJtYXRlcmlhbFNldFNlcmlhbCI6MX0%3D&branch=master)
+[![Version](https://badge.fury.io/js/aws-cdk.svg)](https://badge.fury.io/js/aws-cdk)
+[![Gitter chat](https://badges.gitter.im/gitterHQ/gitter.svg)](https://gitter.im/awslabs/aws-cdk)
 
-The **AWS Cloud Development Kit (AWS CDK)** is an infrastructure modeling framework that allows you to define your cloud resources using an imperative programming interface. The CDK is currently in developer preview. We look forward to community feedback and collaboration.
+The **AWS Cloud Development Kit (AWS CDK)** is an infrastructure modeling
+framework that allows you to define your cloud resources using an imperative
+programming interface. The CDK is currently in developer preview. We look
+forward to community feedback and collaboration.
 
-Developers can use one of the supported programming languages to define
-reusable cloud components called **constructs**, which are composed
-together to form **Apps**. Apps are synthesized to AWS
-CloudFormation Templates and deployed to the AWS Cloud using the **CDK
-Command Line Toolkit**.
+[User Guide] |
+[Getting Started] |
+[API Reference](https://awslabs.github.io/aws-cdk/reference.html) |
+[Getting Help](#getting-help)
 
-The CDK is shipped with a rich library of constructs called the **AWS
-Construct Library**, which includes constructs for all AWS services.
-
-You will end up writing code that looks like this:
-
-```ts
-const queue = new sqs.Queue(this, 'MyQueue', {
-    visibilityTimeoutSec: 300
-});
+![Example usage of CDK](screencast.gif)
 
-const topic = new sns.Topic(this, 'MyTopic');
+Developers can use one of the supported programming languages to define reusable
+cloud components called [constructs], which are composed together into
+[stacks] and [apps].
 
-topic.subscribeQueue(queue);
-```
+The [AWS CDK Toolkit] is a command-line tool for interacting with
+CDK apps. It allows developers to synthesize artifacts such as AWS
+CloudFormation Templates, deploy stacks to development AWS accounts and "diff"
+against a deployed stack to understand the impact of a code change.
 
-The following screencast shows the experience of installing and working with the CDK:
+The [AWS Construct Library] includes a module for each
+AWS service with constructs that offer rich APIs that encapsulate the details of
+how to use AWS. The AWS Construct Library aims to reduce the complexity and
+glue-logic required when integrating various AWS services to achieve your goals
+on AWS.
 
-![Example usage of CDK](screencast.gif)
+[constructs]: https://awslabs.github.io/aws-cdk/constructs.html
+[stacks]: https://awslabs.github.io/aws-cdk/stack.html
+[apps]: https://awslabs.github.io/aws-cdk/apps.html
+[User Guide]: https://awslabs.github.io/aws-cdk
+[Getting Started]: https://awslabs.github.io/aws-cdk/getting-started.html
+[AWS CDK Toolkit]: https://awslabs.github.io/aws-cdk/toolkit.html
+[AWS Construct Library]: https://awslabs.github.io/aws-cdk/aws-construct-lib.html
 
-## Installation
+## Getting Started
 
-### Prerequisites
+* For a detailed walkthrough, see [Getting Started] in the AWS CDK [User Guide]
+* See [Manual Installation](./MANUAL_INSTALLATION.md) for installing the CDK from a signed .zip file
 
-Make sure you have [Node.js LTS (8.11.x)](https://nodejs.org/en/download) installed.
+Install the [AWS CDK Toolkit] from npm (requires [Node.js ≥ 8.11.x](https://nodejs.org/en/download)):
 
-### Getting Started
+```bash
+$ npm i -g aws-cdk
+```
 
-Install the toolkit, create a demo project in the current directory, and deploy
-it:
+Initialize a project:
 
-```shell
-npm install -g aws-cdk
-cdk init app --language=typescript   # or java
-npm run build
-cdk deploy
+```bash
+$ cdk init app --language=typescript
+# or
+$ cdk init app --language=java
+# more languages (coming soon)...
 ```
 
-### Manual Installation
+Use the `cdk` command-line toolkit to interact with your project:
 
-If you prefer to have full control over the installation and version
-of the CDK, the complete distribution is also available as a single signed
-zip file.
+ * `cdk deploy`: deploys your app into an AWS account
+ * `cdk synth`: synthesizes an AWS CloudFormation template for your app
+ * `cdk diff`: compares your app with the deployed stack
 
-[See `MANUAL_INSTALLATION.md` for more information](MANUAL_INSTALLATION.md)
+Read the [docs]():
 
-### Viewing Documentation
+```bash
+$ cdk docs
+```
 
-To view CDK documentation bundled with the release, run:
+## Getting Help
 
-```shell
-cdk docs
-```
+Please use these community resources for getting help. We use the GitHub issues
+for tracking bugs and feature requests.
 
-Or view the [online documentation](http://awslabs.github.io/aws-cdk).
+* Ask a question on [Stack Overflow](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/aws-cdk)
+  and tag it with `aws-sdk-cdk`
+* Come join the AWS CDK community on [Gitter](https://gitter.im/awslabs/aws-cdk)
+* Open a support ticket with [AWS Support](https://console.aws.amazon.com/support/home#/)
+* If it turns out that you may have found a bug,
+  please open an [issue](https://github.com/awslabs/aws-cdk/issues/new)
 
-## Development
+## Contributing
 
-See [CONTRIBUTING](./CONTRIBUTING.md).
+We welcome community contributions and pull requests. See
+[CONTRIBUTING](./CONTRIBUTING.md) for information on how to set up a development
+environment and submit code.
 
-# License
+## License
 
-Copyright 2018 Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.
+This AWS CDK is distributed under the [Apache License, Version 2.0](https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0).
 
-See [LICENSE](./LICENSE) file for license terms.
+See [LICENSE](./LICENSE) and [NOTICE](./NOTICE) for more information.