diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index f6f337edb2d062f24edf23915ed76d41b23dbece..b0cb6605990e396c32d808ada35b5919aeefffb8 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ mkdir build
 
 All build commands will be executed from within this build directory (*not* from the slic project directory).
 
-### Quick Build Instructions
+### Basic Build Instructions
 
 The SLIC build system is able to download and install all dependencies for the project if they are not found on your system.
 
@@ -47,6 +47,29 @@ Once this is done, then you need to rerun `cmake ..` from the build directory.
 
 The default installation directory for SLIC and its dependencies is `~/slic` which you can change by providing an argument `-DGLOBAL_INSTALL_DIR=/my/install/dir` to the CMake command.
 
+### Specifying Dependencies
+
+You may also have one or more of SLIC's dependencies installed locally, which you can use in your build by providing CMake with their root directories.
+
+For instance, to use your own Geant4 installation, the command would be something like the following:
+
+```
+cmake -DGeant4_DIR=/path/to/geant4/lib64/Geant4-10.3.1/ ..
+```
+
+This table shows the full list of dependency variables accepted by SLIC:
+
+| Dependency | Variable    |
+| ---------- | ----------- |
+| Geant4     | Geant4_DIR  |
+| Xerces C++ | XERCES_DIR  |
+| LCIO       | LCIO_DIR    |
+| HepPDT     | HEPPDT_DIR  |
+| GDML       | GDML_DIR    |
+| LCDD       | LCDD_DIR    |
+
+Instructions for manually installing these dependencies are given below.
+
 ## Running SLIC
 
 The build system generates a shell script that will setup the necessary environment for running the application:
@@ -75,32 +98,12 @@ slic -g mygeom.lcdd -i events.stdhep -m commands.mac -r 10
 
 Read the help to get an idea of the actual commands that are available.
 
-### Specifying Dependencies
-
-You may also have one or more of SLIC's dependencies installed locally, which you can use in your build by providing CMake with their root directories.
-
-For instance, to use your own Geant4 installation, the command would be something like the following:
-
-```
-cmake -DGeant4_DIR=/path/to/geant4/lib64/Geant4-10.3.1/ ..
-```
-
-This table shows the full list of dependency variables accepted by SLIC:
 
-| Dependency | Variable    |
-| ---------- | ----------- |
-| Geant4     | Geant4_DIR  |
-| Xerces C++ | XERCES_DIR  |
-| LCIO       | LCIO_DIR    |
-| HepPDT     | HEPPDT_DIR  |
-| GDML       | GDML_DIR    |
-| LCDD       | LCDD_DIR    |
-
-Instructions for manually installing these dependencies are given below.
+## Installing Dependencies Manually
 
-## Installing Dependencies
+This section covers in detail the manual installation of SLIC's dependencies.  
 
-Should you wish to install dependencies manually, the following instructions can be followed.
+These procedures are entirely optional, as running `cmake` without providing paths to pre-installed dependencies will cause them to be installed automatically.
 
 #### Geant4