diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index d5d99c00b8f5e..3c633eec06145 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -18,7 +18,8 @@ GitHub, clone, and develop on a branch. Steps:
 
 1. Fork the [project repository](https://github.com/scikit-learn/scikit-learn)
    by clicking on the 'Fork' button near the top right of the page. This creates
-   a copy of the code under your GitHub user account.
+   a copy of the code under your GitHub user account. For more details on
+   how to fork a repository see [this guide](https://help.github.com/articles/fork-a-repo/).
 
 2. Clone your fork of the scikit-learn repo from your GitHub account to your local disk:
 
@@ -48,9 +49,8 @@ GitHub, clone, and develop on a branch. Steps:
    $ git push -u origin my-feature
    ```
 
-5. Go to the GitHub web page of your fork of the scikit-learn repo.
-Click the 'Pull request' button to send your changes to the project's maintainers for
-review. This will send an email to the committers.
+5. Follow [these instructions](https://help.github.com/articles/creating-a-pull-request-from-a-fork)
+to create a pull request from your fork. This will send an email to the committers.
 
 (If any of the above seems like magic to you, please look up the
 [Git documentation](https://git-scm.com/documentation) on the web, or ask a friend or another contributor for help.)
diff --git a/doc/developers/contributing.rst b/doc/developers/contributing.rst
index d83650345b422..19db497f5a941 100644
--- a/doc/developers/contributing.rst
+++ b/doc/developers/contributing.rst
@@ -111,7 +111,8 @@ then submit a "pull request" (PR):
  2. Fork the `project repository
     <https://github.com/scikit-learn/scikit-learn>`__: click on the 'Fork'
     button near the top of the page. This creates a copy of the code under your
-    account on the GitHub server.
+    account on the GitHub server. For more details on how to fork a
+    repository see `this guide <https://help.github.com/articles/fork-a-repo/>`_.
 
  3. Clone this copy to your local disk::
 
@@ -133,10 +134,11 @@ then submit a "pull request" (PR):
 
         $ git push -u origin my-feature
 
-Finally, go to the web page of the your fork of the scikit-learn repo,
-and click 'Pull request' to send your changes to the maintainers for review.
-You may want to consider sending an email to the mailing list for more
-visibility.
+Finally, follow `these
+<https://help.github.com/articles/creating-a-pull-request-from-a-fork>`_
+instructions to create a pull request from your fork. This will send an
+email to the committers. You may want to consider sending an email to the
+mailing list for more visibility.
 
 .. note::