diff --git a/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md b/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
index 0e85fdf17da..cd044f47306 100644
--- a/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
+++ b/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
@@ -1,20 +1,24 @@
-<!-- Thank you for contributing to LangChain!
+Thank you for contributing to LangChain!
 
-Please title your PR "<package>: <description>", where <package> is whichever of langchain, community, core, experimental, etc. is being modified.
+Checklist:
 
-Replace this entire comment with:
-  - **Description:** a description of the change, 
-  - **Issue:** the issue # it fixes if applicable,
-  - **Dependencies:** any dependencies required for this change,
-  - **Twitter handle:** we announce bigger features on Twitter. If your PR gets announced, and you'd like a mention, we'll gladly shout you out!
-
-Please make sure your PR is passing linting and testing before submitting. Run `make format`, `make lint` and `make test` from the root of the package you've modified to check this locally.
-
-See contribution guidelines for more information on how to write/run tests, lint, etc: https://python.langchain.com/docs/contributing/
-
-If you're adding a new integration, please include:
+- [ ] PR title: Please title your PR "package: description", where "package" is whichever of langchain, community, core, experimental, etc. is being modified. Use "docs: ..." for purely docs changes, "templates: ..." for template changes, "infra: ..." for CI changes.
+  - Example: "community: add foobar LLM"
+- [ ] PR message: Delete this entire template and replace it with the following bulleted list
+    - **Description:** a description of the change
+    - **Issue:** the issue # it fixes, if applicable
+    - **Dependencies:** any dependencies required for this change
+    - **Twitter handle:** if your PR gets announced, and you'd like a mention, we'll gladly shout you out!
+- [ ] Pass lint and test: Run `make format`, `make lint` and `make test` from the root of the package(s) you've modified to check that you're passing lint and testing. See contribution guidelines for more information on how to write/run tests, lint, etc: https://python.langchain.com/docs/contributing/
+- [ ] Add tests and docs: If you're adding a new integration, please include
   1. a test for the integration, preferably unit tests that do not rely on network access,
   2. an example notebook showing its use. It lives in `docs/docs/integrations` directory.
 
-If no one reviews your PR within a few days, please @-mention one of @baskaryan, @eyurtsev, @hwchase17.
- -->
+Additional guidelines:
+- Make sure optional dependencies are imported within a function.
+- Please do not add dependencies to pyproject.toml files (even optional ones) unless they are required for unit tests.
+- Most PRs should not touch more than one package.
+- Changes should be backwards compatible.
+- If you are adding something to community, do not re-import it in langchain.
+
+If no one reviews your PR within a few days, please @-mention one of @baskaryan, @efriis, @eyurtsev, @hwchase17.
\ No newline at end of file