diff --git a/template/.gitignore b/template/.gitignore
index 877272f..fc6c048 100644
--- a/template/.gitignore
+++ b/template/.gitignore
@@ -219,8 +219,11 @@ infrastructure/apps/**/
 
 # Data directories
 processed_data/**
+!processed_data/README.md
 raw_data/**
+!raw_data/README.md
 results/**
+!results/README.md
 
 # TMP
 infrastructure/.tmp_*/**
diff --git a/template/processed_data/README.md b/template/processed_data/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6db6dfb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/template/processed_data/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+# Processed Data
+This directory contains processed data, which is derived from your raw data.
+
+__Note:__ This directory is not tracked by git.
diff --git a/template/raw_data/README.md b/template/raw_data/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b4e544a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/template/raw_data/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+# Raw Data
+This directory contains your raw data.
+
+__Note:__ This directory is not tracked by git.
diff --git a/template/results/README.md b/template/results/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4165508
--- /dev/null
+++ b/template/results/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+# Results
+Finale results (e.g. plots and figures) are stored here.
+
+__Note:__ This directory is not tracked by git.