diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index f21d7f1..f64fb2e 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -4,12 +4,14 @@
 [![Donate](https://img.shields.io/beerpay/trevorblades/countries.svg)](https://beerpay.io/trevorblades/countries)
 
 
-A public GraphQL API for information about countries, continents, and languages. This project uses [Countries List](https://annexare.github.io/Countries/) as a data source, so the schema follows the shape of that data, with a couple exceptions:
+A public GraphQL API for information about countries, continents, and languages. This project uses [Countries List](https://annexare.github.io/Countries/) as a data source, so the schema follows the shape of that data, with a few exceptions:
 
 1. The codes used to key the objects in the original data are available as a `code` property on each item returned from the API.
 2. The `continent` and `languages` properties are now objects and arrays of objects, respectively.
 
-## Writing queries
+## Querying
+
+In:
 
 ```graphql
 {
@@ -26,6 +28,8 @@ A public GraphQL API for information about countries, continents, and languages.
 }
 ```
 
+Out:
+
 ```json
 {
   "data": {
@@ -45,30 +49,38 @@ A public GraphQL API for information about countries, continents, and languages.
 }
 ```
 
-Check out the [playground](https://countries.trevorblades.com) to explore the schema and test out some queries.
+Check out [the playground](https://countries.trevorblades.com) to explore the schema and test out some queries.
 
 ## Example
 
-A practical use of this API is to create a country select input that doesn't require you to include a large dataset of country info in your bundle.
+One practical use of this API is to create a country select field that fetches its options dynamically. Normally, you would need to install an npm package or create a file in your project containing the necessary data -- usually country codes and names -- and bundle that data with your app code. This results in a lot of extra kilobytes hanging around in your bundle for a feature that might not always get rendered or used. Here's what that data size looks like:
 
-In this example, we'll be using [React](https://reactjs.org/) and the [Apollo](https://apollographql.com) GraphQL client. First, we'll install all of our dependencies:
+- **50.1 KB** using the `countries` export from [Countries List](https://annexare.github.io/Countries/)
+- **14.2 KB** using this API (~70% smaller)
+
+In this example, I'll be using [React](https://reactjs.org/) and some [Apollo](https://apollographql.com) tools. Apollo's GraphQL client and React components make it simple to execute, handle, and cache GraphQL queries. You can also accomplish this by sending a POST request to this API using `fetch` or your favourite request library, but I won't cover that in this example.
+
+### Install dependencies
 
 ```shell
 $ npm install react react-dom react-apollo apollo-boost graphql graphql-tag
 ```
 
-50.1 KB with `countries-list`
-14.2 KB with Countries GraphQL
+### Build a React component
 
 ```js
-import React from 'react';
-import ReactDOM from 'react-dom';
 import ApolloClient from 'apollo-boost';
+import React, {Component} from 'react';
+import ReactDOM from 'react-dom';
+import gql from 'graphql-tag';
+import {Query} from 'react-apollo';
 
+// initialize our Apollo GraphQL client
 const client = new ApolloClient({
   uri: 'https://countries.trevorblades.com'
 });
 
+// write a GraphQL query that asks for names and codes for all countries
 const GET_COUNTRIES = gql`
   {
     countries {
@@ -79,38 +91,45 @@ const GET_COUNTRIES = gql`
 `;
 
 class App extends Component {
-  state = {
-    country: ''
-  };
+  constructor(props) {
+    super(props);
 
-  onCountryChange = event =>
+    // set a default value
+    this.state = {
+      country: 'US'
+    };
+  }
+  
+  // set the selected country to the new input value
+  onCountryChange(event) {
     this.setState({country: event.target.value});
+  }
 
   render() {
     return (
-      <ApolloProvider client={client}>
-        <Query query={GET_COUNTRIES}>
-          {({loading, error, data}) => {
-            if (loading) return <p>Loading...</p>;
-            if (error) return <p>{error.message}</p>;
-            return (
-              <select
-                value={this.state.country}
-                onChange={this.onCountryChange}
-              >
-                {data.countries.map(country => (
-                  <option key={country.code} value={country.code}>
-                    {country.name}
-                  </option>
-                ))}
-              </select>
-            );
-          }}
-        </Query>
-      </ApolloProvider>
+      <Query query={GET_COUNTRIES} client={client}>
+        {({loading, error, data}) => {
+          if (loading) return <p>Loading...</p>;
+          if (error) return <p>{error.message}</p>;
+          return (
+            <select
+              value={this.state.country}
+              onChange={this.onCountryChange.bind(this)}
+            >
+              {data.countries.map(country => (
+                <option key={country.code} value={country.code}>
+                  {country.name}
+                </option>
+              ))}
+            </select>
+          );
+        }}
+      </Query>
     );
   }
 }
 
 ReactDOM.render(<App />, document.getElementById('root'));
 ```
+
+### Behold, your mighty country select 🎉