diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 86eccdd1..11d7b60d 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -50,16 +50,28 @@ or run
 composer require phpmailer/phpmailer
 ```
 
-PHPMailer declares the namespace `PHPMailer\PHPMailer`.
+Note that the `vendor` folder and the `vendor/autoload.php` script are generated by composer; they are not part of PHPMailer.
 
 If you want to use the Gmail XOAUTH2 authentication class, you will also need to add a dependency on the `league/oauth2-client` package in your `composer.json`.
 
-Alternatively, if you're not using composer, copy the contents of the PHPMailer folder into one of the `include_path` directories specified in your PHP configuration and load each one manually.
+Alternatively, if you're not using composer, copy the contents of the PHPMailer folder into one of the `include_path` directories specified in your PHP configuration and load each class file manually:
 
-If you don't speak git or just want a tarball, click the 'zip' button on the right of the project page in GitHub.
+```php
+<?php
+use PHPMailer\PHPMailer\PHPMailer;
+use PHPMailer\PHPMailer\Exception;
+
+require 'path/to/PHPMailer/src/Exception.php';
+require 'path/to/PHPMailer/src/PHPMailer.php';
+require 'path/to/PHPMailer/src/SMTP.php';
+```
+
+If you're not using the `SMTP` class explicitly (you're probably not), you don't need a `use` line for the SMTP class.
+
+If you don't speak git or just want a tarball, click the 'zip' button on the right of the project page in GitHub, though note that docs and examples are not included in the tarball.
 
 ## Upgrading from 5.2
-[Read the upgrade guide](https://github.com/PHPMailer/PHPMailer/tree/master/UPGRADING.md).
+The biggest changes are that source files are now in the `src/` folder, and PHPMailer now declares the namespace `PHPMailer\PHPMailer`. This has several important effects – [read the upgrade guide](https://github.com/PHPMailer/PHPMailer/tree/master/UPGRADING.md) for more details.
 
 ## Legacy versions
 PHPMailer 5.2 (which is compatible with PHP 5.0 - 7.0) is no longer being supported for feature updates, and will only be receiving security updates from now on. You will find the latest version of 5.2 in the [5.2-stable branch](https://github.com/PHPMailer/PHPMailer/tree/5.2-stable), and future versions of 5.2 will be tagged with 5.2.x version numbers, so existing composer configs should remain working. If you're using PHP 5.5 or later, we recommend you make the necessary changes to switch to the 6.0 release.
@@ -71,13 +83,15 @@ While installing the entire package manually or with composer is simple, conveni
 
 ```php
 <?php
-//Import PHPMailer classes into the global namespace
+// Import PHPMailer classes into the global namespace
+// These must be at the top of your script, not inside a function
 use PHPMailer\PHPMailer\PHPMailer;
 use PHPMailer\PHPMailer\Exception;
 
+//Load composer's autoloader
 require 'vendor/autoload.php';
 
-$mail = new PHPMailer(true);
+$mail = new PHPMailer(true);                              // Passing `true` enables exceptions
 try {
     //Server settings
     $mail->SMTPDebug = 2;                                 // Enable verbose debug output