Determine the element’s atomic number
Fill orbitals in order of increasing energy
Use the Aufbau principle
Follow the Pauli exclusion principle
Apply Hund’s rule
Write subshells in the correct order
Use superscripts to show the number of electrons in each subshell
Check that the total number of electrons matches the atomic number
Use noble gas shorthand if needed
Example: 1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p¹