Learn Hardcore German: Die Schülerin überlegt kurz, ob sie einen Spickzettel schreiben soll, entscheidet sich dann dagegen. - The pupil briefly considers whether she should write a cheat sheet, then decides against it.

German nouns have a grammatical gender, and this one is explicitly marked as female by the -in ending. The definite article die is required here because Schülerin is the subject of the sentence:

Die Schülerin überlegt … = The (female) pupil thinks …

You would drop the article only in a predicate noun construction like:

Sie ist Schülerin. = She is a pupil.

There, Schülerin describes what she is, rather than serving as the main subject with its own determiner.

What is the difference between überlegt and verbs like denkt or nachdenkt? Why choose überlegt here?

All three are related to thinking, but they’re used a bit differently:

denken = to think (in general)
- Ich denke, dass … = I think that …
nachdenken (über + Akk.) = to reflect, to think something over
- Sie denkt über den Test nach. = She is thinking about the test.
überlegen (often with an ob/wie/wo clause or as sich etwas überlegen)
= to consider, to think about a decision / option
- Sie überlegt, ob sie gehen soll. = She is considering whether she should go.

In the given sentence, the girl is weighing a decision (cheat or not), so überlegen is the most natural verb. It strongly implies considering options, not just having random thoughts.

What exactly does kurz mean in überlegt kurz, and could it also be placed elsewhere?

kurz here means for a short time / briefly:

Die Schülerin überlegt kurz …
= The pupil thinks for a moment …

It’s an adverb of time, and German allows some flexibility in its position:

Die Schülerin überlegt kurz, ob … (most natural)
Die Schülerin überlegt, ob sie kurz einen Spickzettel schreiben soll.
- This changes the nuance: now kurz can be read as “briefly write a cheat sheet,” which is less likely what is meant.

So überlegt kurz clearly says the thinking is brief, not the writing. That’s why this position is best here.

Why is it ob in ob sie einen Spickzettel schreiben soll? How is ob different from wenn or falls?

ob is used for indirect yes/no questions and for expressing uncertainty about whether something is (or will be) the case.

ob = whether / if (in indirect questions)
- Sie überlegt, ob sie gehen soll. = She is considering whether she should go.

wenn and falls are used for conditions:

wenn = if / when (whenever)
- Wenn sie einen Spickzettel schreibt, mogelt sie.
  = If she writes a cheat sheet, she is cheating.
falls = in case / if (more tentative or formal)
- Falls sie einen Spickzettel schreibt, wird sie bestraft.
  = In case she writes a cheat sheet, she will be punished.

In the sentence, she is asking herself “yes or no?” (Cheat or not?), so ob is correct. Using wenn or falls would change it into a conditional (“if she writes one, then …”), which is not the idea here.

Why is the word order schreiben soll and not soll schreiben in the clause ob sie einen Spickzettel schreiben soll?

In a subordinate clause introduced by ob, the finite verb (the conjugated form) generally comes last.

ob sie einen Spickzettel schreiben soll
- sie = subject
- einen Spickzettel = object
- schreiben = infinitive
- soll = finite modal verb (3rd person singular, present)

With modal verbs + infinitive in subordinate clauses, standard modern German usually places the infinitive before the finite verb at the very end:

…, ob sie gehen soll.
…, weil er kommen möchte.

In a main clause, it’s different: the finite verb must be in second position, and the infinitive stays at the end:

Sie soll einen Spickzettel schreiben.

So:

Main clause: Sie soll … schreiben.
Subordinate clause: …, ob sie … schreiben soll.

Why is it einen Spickzettel and what case and gender is that?

Spickzettel is a masculine noun in German:

der Spickzettel = the cheat sheet

In einen Spickzettel, the article einen is:

masculine accusative singular form of ein

The verb schreiben takes a direct object in the accusative:

etwas schreiben = to write something
einen Brief schreiben, einen Aufsatz schreiben, einen Spickzettel schreiben

So:

ein (masc. nom.) → einen (masc. acc.)
sie schreibt einen Spickzettel = she writes a cheat sheet

Plural of Spickzettel is usually Spickzettel (same form as singular).

What exactly is a Spickzettel? Is it always about cheating?

Yes, Spickzettel is typically a small cheat sheet used in tests or exams:

spicken (colloquial) = to cheat (on a test), to crib
Zettel = note, slip of paper

So Spickzettel literally is a “cheating note.”

It very strongly implies dishonest help in an exam. It’s not a neutral “summary card” for studying; it’s the thing you illegally use during a test.

What does soll express here? How is it different from muss or will?

In schreiben soll, soll is the modal verb sollen in the 3rd person singular (sie soll). It usually expresses:

duty / obligation / something that is advisable or expected
- Sie soll lernen. = She should is supposed to study.

In this sentence:

ob sie einen Spickzettel schreiben soll
= whether she should write a cheat sheet

Nuances compared:

muss = must / has to (strong necessity)
- Sie muss den Test schreiben. = She has to take the test.
will = wants to (desire)
- Sie will einen Spickzettel schreiben. = She wants to write a cheat sheet.

With soll, she’s thinking about whether it’s the right or expected thing to do, not just whether she wants it.

Why does the sentence have a comma before ob and another before entscheidet?

German comma rules are quite strict:

Comma before ob
- ob sie einen Spickzettel schreiben soll is a subordinate clause.
- German requires a comma before most subordinate clauses:
  - …, ob sie … schreiben soll, …
  - …, weil sie müde ist, …
  - …, dass er kommt, …
Comma before entscheidet
- entscheidet sich dann dagegen is another main clause, sharing the same subject Die Schülerin as the first clause.
- The full form would be:
  - Die Schülerin überlegt kurz, ob sie einen Spickzettel schreiben soll, und sie entscheidet sich dann dagegen.
- In German, when two main clauses are linked (even if und is omitted), you normally put a comma between them.

So the commas mark:

Main clause 1 → Die Schülerin überlegt kurz
Subordinate clause → ob sie einen Spickzettel schreiben soll
Main clause 2 → entscheidet sich dann dagegen

Why is it entscheidet sich and not just entscheidet? What does the reflexive sich do here?

sich entscheiden is a reflexive verb meaning to make up one’s mind / to decide (between options).

sich entscheiden (für + Akk. / gegen + Akk.)
- Sie entscheidet sich für den Spickzettel.
  = She decides in favor of the cheat sheet.
- Sie entscheidet sich gegen den Spickzettel.
  = She decides against the cheat sheet.

Without sich, entscheiden is usually transitive and means to decide something (a case, a matter):

Der Richter entscheidet den Fall.
= The judge decides the case.

In this sentence, we want the meaning she makes a decision about herself/what she will do, so the reflexive sich is required:

Sie entscheidet sich dann dagegen.
= She then decides against it.

What does dagegen stand for in entscheidet sich dann dagegen?

dagegen is a pronominal adverb, made from da + gegen:

gegen = against (preposition)
da- = stands in for a previously mentioned thing or idea

So dagegen = against that / against it.

It refers back to the idea of writing a Spickzettel:

ob sie einen Spickzettel schreiben soll → that option
Sie entscheidet sich dagegen. → She decides against that option.

A more explicit version could be:

Sie entscheidet sich gegen den Spickzettel.

Why is sie lowercase in ob sie einen Spickzettel schreiben soll? Could it ever be Sie?

Lowercase sie refers to “she” (3rd person singular feminine):

sie = she / they
Sie (capitalized) = you (polite form, singular and plural)

In the sentence, sie clearly refers back to Die Schülerin, a third person subject, so it must be lowercase.

You would only write Sie (with a capital S) when directly addressing someone politely:

Überlegen Sie kurz, ob Sie einen Spickzettel schreiben sollen.
= Think briefly about whether you should write a cheat sheet (formal “you”).

Why is the whole sentence in the present tense, although it tells a little story sequence (first she thinks, then she decides)?

German often uses the present tense (Präsens) to narrate events that are happening right now or in a vivid, almost “live” style, even if they are part of a past-like narrative context.

Die Schülerin überlegt kurz …, entscheidet sich dann dagegen.
= The pupil thinks for a moment … then decides against it.

The chronology is shown not by tense changes but by:

the order of clauses and
the adverb dann (then).

If you wanted to put it clearly in the past, you could say:

Die Schülerin überlegte kurz, ob sie einen Spickzettel schreiben sollte, entschied sich dann dagegen.

But the present tense version is very natural for immediate narration, for example in a story or when describing what you see.