diff --git a/docs/contributing.txt b/docs/contributing.txt
index 6b2b64f672..4a551c7e26 100644
--- a/docs/contributing.txt
+++ b/docs/contributing.txt
@@ -195,7 +195,7 @@ The second part of this workflow involves a set of flags the describe what the
 ticket has or needs in order to be "ready for checkin":
 
     "Has patch"
-        The means the ticket has an associated patch_. These will be
+        This means the ticket has an associated patch_. These will be
         reviewed to see if the patch is "good".
 
     "Needs documentation"
@@ -212,6 +212,35 @@ ticket has or needs in order to be "ready for checkin":
         ready for checkin. This could mean the patch no longer applies
         cleanly, or that the code doesn't live up to our standards.
 
+A ticket can be resolved in a number of ways:
+
+    "fixed"
+        This state is used by one of the core developers once a patch has been
+        rolled into Django, and the issue is fixed.
+
+    "invalid"
+        This state is used if the ticket is found to be incorrect, or a user
+        error.
+
+    "wontfix"
+        Used when a core developer decides that this request is not
+        appropriate for consideration in Django. This is usually chosen after
+        discussion in the ``django-developers`` mailing list, and you should
+        feel free to join in when it's something you care about.
+
+    "duplicate"
+        This is used when, rather obviously, there's a duplicate ticket about
+        the same issue. By closing the extra tickets, we can keep all the
+        discussion in one place which helps everyone.
+
+    "worksforme"
+        This state is similar to "invalid", but is generally used to show
+        that the triage team was unable to replicate the original bug.
+
+If you believe that the ticket was closed in error, either because you're still having the 
+issue, or it's popped up somewhere else, or the triagers have made a mistake, please reopen
+the ticket and tell us why.
+
 .. _required details: `Reporting bugs`_
 .. _good patch: `Patch style`_
 .. _patch: `Submitting patches`_