diff --git a/src/libstd/fs.rs b/src/libstd/fs.rs
index 479e4d08f4b4d..7bd1adc411ae4 100644
--- a/src/libstd/fs.rs
+++ b/src/libstd/fs.rs
@@ -231,7 +231,9 @@ fn initial_buffer_size(file: &File) -> usize {
 /// Read the entire contents of a file into a bytes vector.
 ///
 /// This is a convenience function for using [`File::open`] and [`read_to_end`]
-/// with fewer imports and without an intermediate variable.
+/// with fewer imports and without an intermediate variable.  It pre-allocates a
+/// buffer based on the file size when available, so it is generally faster than
+/// reading into a vector created with `Vec::new()`.
 ///
 /// [`File::open`]: struct.File.html#method.open
 /// [`read_to_end`]: ../io/trait.Read.html#method.read_to_end
@@ -270,7 +272,9 @@ pub fn read<P: AsRef<Path>>(path: P) -> io::Result<Vec<u8>> {
 /// Read the entire contents of a file into a string.
 ///
 /// This is a convenience function for using [`File::open`] and [`read_to_string`]
-/// with fewer imports and without an intermediate variable.
+/// with fewer imports and without an intermediate variable.  It pre-allocates a
+/// buffer based on the file size when available, so it is generally faster than
+/// reading into a string created with `String::new()`.
 ///
 /// [`File::open`]: struct.File.html#method.open
 /// [`read_to_string`]: ../io/trait.Read.html#method.read_to_string
diff --git a/src/libstd/io/buffered.rs b/src/libstd/io/buffered.rs
index cefff2f143ce7..91f07ecc6639e 100644
--- a/src/libstd/io/buffered.rs
+++ b/src/libstd/io/buffered.rs
@@ -25,6 +25,12 @@ use memchr;
 /// results in a system call. A `BufReader` performs large, infrequent reads on
 /// the underlying [`Read`] and maintains an in-memory buffer of the results.
 ///
+/// `BufReader` can improve the speed of programs that make *small* and
+/// *repeated* read calls to the same file or network socket.  It does not
+/// help when reading very large amounts at once, or reading just one or a few
+/// times.  It also provides no advantage when reading from a source that is
+/// already in memory, like a `Vec<u8>`.
+///
 /// [`Read`]: ../../std/io/trait.Read.html
 /// [`TcpStream::read`]: ../../std/net/struct.TcpStream.html#method.read
 /// [`TcpStream`]: ../../std/net/struct.TcpStream.html
@@ -359,6 +365,12 @@ impl<R: Seek> Seek for BufReader<R> {
 /// `BufWriter` keeps an in-memory buffer of data and writes it to an underlying
 /// writer in large, infrequent batches.
 ///
+/// `BufWriter` can improve the speed of programs that make *small* and
+/// *repeated* write calls to the same file or network socket.  It does not
+/// help when writing very large amounts at once, or writing just one or a few
+/// times.  It also provides no advantage when writing to a destination that is
+/// in memory, like a `Vec<u8>`.
+///
 /// When the `BufWriter` is dropped, the contents of its buffer will be written
 /// out. However, any errors that happen in the process of flushing the buffer
 /// when the writer is dropped will be ignored. Code that wishes to handle such
diff --git a/src/libstd/io/mod.rs b/src/libstd/io/mod.rs
index 63b631ace9693..3b8c42ddb39d8 100644
--- a/src/libstd/io/mod.rs
+++ b/src/libstd/io/mod.rs
@@ -595,6 +595,11 @@ pub trait Read {
     ///     Ok(())
     /// }
     /// ```
+    ///
+    /// (See also the [`std::fs::read`] convenience function for reading from a
+    /// file.)
+    ///
+    /// [`std::fs::read`]: ../fs/fn.read.html
     #[stable(feature = "rust1", since = "1.0.0")]
     fn read_to_end(&mut self, buf: &mut Vec<u8>) -> Result<usize> {
         read_to_end(self, buf)
@@ -633,6 +638,11 @@ pub trait Read {
     ///     Ok(())
     /// }
     /// ```
+    ///
+    /// (See also the [`std::fs::read_to_string`] convenience function for
+    /// reading from a file.)
+    ///
+    /// [`std::fs::read_to_string`]: ../fs/fn.read_to_string.html
     #[stable(feature = "rust1", since = "1.0.0")]
     fn read_to_string(&mut self, buf: &mut String) -> Result<usize> {
         // Note that we do *not* call `.read_to_end()` here. We are passing