diff --git a/runtime/ftplugin/README.txt b/runtime/ftplugin/README.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..19ad58b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/runtime/ftplugin/README.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+The ftplugin directory is for Vim plugin scripts that are only used for a
+specific filetype.
+
+All files ending in .vim in this directory and subdirectories will be sourced
+by Vim when it detects the filetype that matches the name of the file or
+subdirectory.
+For example, these are all loaded for the "c" filetype:
+
+	c.vim
+	c_extra.vim
+	c/settings.vim
+
+Note that the "_" in "c_extra.vim" is required to separate the filetype name
+from the following arbitrary name.
+
+The filetype plugins are only loaded when the ":filetype plugin" command has
+been used.
+
+The default filetype plugin files contain settings that 95% of the users will
+want to use.  They do not contain personal preferences, like the value of
+'shiftwidth'.
+
+If you want to do additional settings, or overrule the default filetype
+plugin, you can create your own plugin file.  See ":help ftplugin" in Vim.