diff --git a/api.go b/api.go
index 7dbb3393aee..dae7f5dc206 100644
--- a/api.go
+++ b/api.go
@@ -934,8 +934,9 @@ func (r *Raft) LastContact() time.Time {
 // "last_snapshot_index", "last_snapshot_term",
 // "latest_configuration", "last_contact", and "num_peers".
 //
-// The value of "state" is a numerical value representing a
-// RaftState const.
+// The value of "state" is a numeric constant representing one of 
+// the possible leadership states the node is in at any given time.
+// the possible states are: "Follower", "Candidate", "Leader", "Shutdown".
 //
 // The value of "latest_configuration" is a string which contains
 // the id of each server, its suffrage status, and its address.