diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 23a271e03..829c0dd0c 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -144,6 +144,16 @@ Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may not use
 
 Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the License.
 
+## Documentation structure
+
+The documentation in this repository is organized as follows:
+
+- `docs/` — conceptual and research documentation
+- `specs/` — protocol specifications and models
+- `src/` — reference implementations and experiments
+
+Each section can be read independently depending on your background.
+
 [docs-main-image]: https://img.shields.io/badge/docs-main-blue?logo=googledocs&logoColor=white
 [docs-main-link]: https://informalsystems.github.io/malachite/
 [build-image]: https://github.com/circlefin/malachite/actions/workflows/rust.yml/badge.svg