diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 4622bc9732..6a55575e92 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -2,6 +2,116 @@
 Seed for ML research
 
 ## Usage
+To use lightning, define a model that implements these 10 functions:
+
+#### Model definition   
+| Name  | Description  |  Input |  Return |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| training_step  |  Called with a batch of data during training | data from your dataloaders  | tuple: scalar, dict  |
+| validation_step  |  Called with a batch of data during validation  | data from your dataloaders  | tuple: scalar, dict |
+| validation_end  |  Collate metrics from all validation steps |  outputs: array where each item is the output of a validation step | dict: for logging |
+| get_save_dict  | called when your model needs to be saved (checkpoints, hpc save, etc...)  | None  |  dict to be saved |
+|  load_model_specific |   |   |   |    
+
+#### Model training   
+| Name  | Description  |  Input |  Return |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| configure_optimizers  |  called during training setup | None | list: optimizers you want to use |
+| tng_dataloader  |  called during training  | None  | pytorch dataloader |
+| val_dataloader  |  called during validation  | None  | pytorch dataloader |
+| test_dataloader  |  called during testing  | None  | pytorch dataloader |    
+| add_model_specific_args  |  called with args you defined in your main. This lets you tailor args for each model and keep main the same  | argparse  | argparse |
+
+#### Model Saving/Loading   
+| Name  | Description  |  Input |  Return |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| get_save_dict  | called when your model needs to be saved (checkpoints, hpc save, etc...)  | None  |  dict to be saved |
+|  load_model_specific |  called when loading a model | checkpoint: dict you created in get_save_dict  | dict: modified in whatever way you want  |
+
+
+## Example     
+```python
+import torch.nn as nn
+
+class ExampleModel(RootModule):
+    def __init__(self):
+        self.l1 = nn.Linear(100, 20)
+    
+    # TRAINING
+    def training_step(self, data_batch):
+        # your dataloader decides what each batch looks like
+        x, y = data_batch
+        y_hat = self.l1(x)
+        loss = some_loss(y_hat)
+        
+        tqdm_dic = {'train_loss': loss}
+        
+        # must return scalar, dict for logging
+        return loss_val, tqdm_dic
+    
+    def validation_step(self, data_batch):
+        # same as training...
+        x, y = data_batch
+        y_hat = self.l1(x)
+        loss = some_loss(y_hat)
+        
+        # val specific
+        acc = calculate_acc(y_hat, y)
+        
+        tqdm_dic = {'train_loss': loss, 'val_acc': acc, 'whatever_you_want': 'a'}
+        return loss_val, tqdm_dic
+ 
+     def validation_end(self, outputs):
+        total_accs = []
+        
+        # given to you by the framework with all validation outputs.
+        # chance to collate
+        for output in outputs:
+            total_accs.append(output['val_acc'].item())
+        
+        # return a dict
+        return {'total_acc': np.mean(total_accs)}
+        
+     # SAVING
+     def get_save_dict(self):
+        # lightning saves for you. Here's your chance to say what you want to save
+        checkpoint = {'state_dict': self.state_dict()}
+
+        return checkpoint
+
+    def load_model_specific(self, checkpoint):
+        # lightning loads for you. Here's your chance to say what you want to load
+        self.load_state_dict(checkpoint['state_dict'])
+        pass
+    
+    # TRAINING CONFIG
+    def configure_optimizers(self):
+        # give lightning the list of optimizers you want to use.
+        # lightning will call automatically
+        optimizer = self.choose_optimizer(self.hparams.optimizer_name, self.parameters(), {'lr': self.hparams.learning_rate}, 'optimizer')
+        self.optimizers = [optimizer]
+        return self.optimizers
+    
+    # LIGHTING WILL USE THE LOADERS YOU DEFINE HERE
+    @property
+    def tng_dataloader(self):
+        return pytorch_dataloader('train')
+
+    @property
+    def val_dataloader(self):
+        return pytorch_dataloader('val')
+
+    @property
+    def test_dataloader(self):
+        return pytorch_dataloader('test')
+    
+    # MODIFY YOUR COMMAND LINE ARGS
+    @staticmethod
+    def add_model_specific_args(parent_parser):    
+        parser = HyperOptArgumentParser(strategy=parent_parser.strategy, parents=[parent_parser])
+        parser.add_argument('--out_features', default=20)
+        return parser
+```
 
 ### Add new model
 1. Create a new model under /models.