I'm trying to take notes in lectures but all the time I always take too many notes or too little. How do I know when it is important to take notes and when I shouldn't?

if youdontknow now, youwillnever know

kidding

if a prof spends a while on something, or repeats it between multiple lectures/times during the same one...then bam

You will get the hang of it with practice. Just try to sit there and figure out what is important and what is just rambling/side talk, etc. The more you attend class the easier this will become.

Also, after you write a bunch of exams you will start to see what types of questions professors ask. This will help tremendously as you will be able to sit in class and in your head forecast how the information being presented to you may easily be a question and how it would be worded, etc.

Its hard for me to put this into words but it is an art form you will master if you just keep at it.

Definitions. Maybe working out a problem. Explanation to the theory

Depends on the class. If the prof mostly tests on definitions, then write down definitions as well as any info about them. Also write down things that stand out or things you that you didn't get right away, but got after an explanation and try to write down the explanation

I take pretty detailed notes on the assigned readings before each lecture so that I can actually listen and participate during the lecture instead of scrambling to take down the information. In both sets of notes I only write down information that is new to me and I'll star anything that I don't understand so that I can research it further or ask about it during office hours. I also keep a highlighter handy so that if the professor is spending a lot of time on something in lecture that was also in the textbook I can mark it as important in the notes I've already taken on that rather than rewriting it.

I just write whatever the prof writes on the board. If the prof is showing slides, I just list the headings (and read the relevant material from the textbook later). If your prof posts the slides online, you don't even need to do that.

Let me leave a piece of advice!
Don't be fooled by the sounds of 100 people typing around you. I have seen really really stupid things being written down just because it was said by the prof.

None of the professors say the important stuff for full 50 minutes, and some of the important stuff might be a common sense to you.
So the best way to take notes is to follow your instinct!

If you are absolutely terrible with note taking, try recording the lectures (if the profs allow it).
Do not take any notes in class and just listen and try to understand, believe or not, many people miss important stuff while trying to write down what the prof said 1 minute ago.
Then, go home, review the recordings and take notes from that.
This is only a suggestion.
You should always go with whatever works best for you

This was my method during first year. Since most of your notes are on power point slides. Just write down information that isn't on the slides such as examples or further explanations. Everything that is repeated is a waste of time since it's already printed on your slides.

Originally Posted by ta2012

Let me leave a piece of advice!
Don't be fooled by the sounds of 100 people typing around you. I have seen really really stupid things being written down just because it was said by the prof.

THIS THIS THIS X1000

The prof talks about their dog,weekend etc---cue ppl typing it out on their laptops

Originally Posted by Goran

THIS THIS THIS X1000

The prof talks about their dog,weekend etc---cue ppl typing it out on their laptops

Haha I do know someone that does this often, just to keep from falling asleep--she'll type out literally everything the prof says, relevant or not, because otherwise her mind will wander. But yeah...if you can apply some sort of filter, that's good

Compare your notes with someone else's in the class. What kinds of classes do you have? My accounting prof says nothing useful, maybe 1 thing a class. My stats prof is constantly saying important things, but I'm too busy listening and trying to understand I don't write it all down.