Learn Hardcore German: Die Dozentin sagt, dass im Schwerpunktbereich Prüfungstraining die richtige Betonung oft über die Note entscheidet. - The lecturer says that in the focus area of exam training the correct stress often determines the grade.

In a main clause, the conjugated verb is in second position:
- Die richtige Betonung entscheidet oft über die Note.
In a subordinate clause introduced by dass, weil, wenn, obwohl etc., the conjugated verb goes to the end:
- …, dass die richtige Betonung oft über die Note entscheidet.

In your sentence, everything after dass is one subordinate clause, so entscheidet must appear at the very end.

What exactly is the role of dass here, and how is it different from weil or ob?

dass is a conjunction that introduces a content clause (a "that-clause" in English). It marks what is being said, thought, believed, etc.

Die Dozentin sagt, dass …
→ "The lecturer says that …"

Compare:

dass = "that" (content of saying/thinking):
- Sie sagt, dass …
weil = "because" (reason):
- Sie sagt das, weil … – "She says that because …"
ob = "whether / if" (yes/no indirect question):
- Sie fragt, ob … – "She asks whether …"

Here we are reporting what the lecturer says, so dass is the correct conjunction.

What does im Schwerpunktbereich Prüfungstraining mean grammatically, and why is there no article before Prüfungstraining?

Grammatically, im Schwerpunktbereich Prüfungstraining is a prepositional phrase:

im = in dem (preposition in
- dative article dem)
Schwerpunktbereich Prüfungstraining = a noun phrase where Prüfungstraining specifies what kind of Schwerpunktbereich it is.

Sense: "in the specialization area exam training" / "in the focus area exam training".

There is no article before Prüfungstraining because it acts like a label or title attached to Schwerpunktbereich, a common pattern in academic German:

im Fach Deutsch – in the subject German
im Kurs B2 Grammatik – in the course B2 Grammar
im Modul Statistik – in the module Statistics

So Prüfungstraining simply names that particular Schwerpunktbereich.

Why is it im instead of in dem?

im is just the standard contraction of in dem:

in + dem = im

Both in dem Schwerpunktbereich and im Schwerpunktbereich are grammatically correct. The contracted form im is much more common and natural in this context.

What case is im Schwerpunktbereich, and how can I tell?

im Schwerpunktbereich is dative.

Reasoning:

The preposition in can take accusative (movement) or dative (location).
Here it describes a location/context ("in the specialization area"), not movement → dative.
Bereich is masculine:
- Nominative: der Bereich
- Dative singular: dem Bereich
in dem Bereich contracts to im Bereich.

So im Schwerpunktbereich = in dem Schwerpunktbereich = dative masculine singular.

What case is die richtige Betonung, and why is the article die?

die richtige Betonung is in the nominative case and is the subject of the subordinate clause.

In:

…, dass im Schwerpunktbereich Prüfungstraining die richtige Betonung oft über die Note entscheidet.

ask: What decides over the grade? → die richtige Betonung. That makes it the subject.

Betonung is a feminine noun:

Nominative singular: die Betonung
Accusative singular: die Betonung
Dative singular: der Betonung
Genitive singular: der Betonung

As the nominative feminine singular subject, it takes die, and the adjective gets the ending -e:

die richtige Betonung

What does the phrase über die Note entscheiden mean, and why do we use über with the accusative here?

The relevant verb pattern is über etwas entscheiden, literally "to decide about something" or "to determine something".

So die richtige Betonung entscheidet oft über die Note means roughly:

"The correct stress often decides the grade / is decisive for the grade."

Grammatically:

über
- accusative is used with verbs like entscheiden when you "decide about" something:
  - über den Termin entscheiden – decide on/about the date
  - über das Budget entscheiden – decide on/about the budget

Here:

über die Note is accusative (feminine singular), governed by über.

You don’t say *entscheidet die Note with Note as a direct object in this meaning. The idiomatic pattern is:

über + Akkusativ entscheiden

Why does the subordinate clause start with im Schwerpunktbereich Prüfungstraining instead of the subject die richtige Betonung?

In subordinate clauses, word order before the final verb is quite flexible. Both of these are correct:

…, dass im Schwerpunktbereich Prüfungstraining die richtige Betonung oft über die Note entscheidet.
…, dass die richtige Betonung im Schwerpunktbereich Prüfungstraining oft über die Note entscheidet.

The choice is about emphasis:

Version 1 highlights the context ("in the specialization area exam training") by placing it first.
Version 2 highlights the subject ("the correct stress") by placing that first.

German often places time/place/context early, even in subordinate clauses, but it’s a stylistic choice rather than a strict rule.

Could I leave out dass and say: Die Dozentin sagt, im Schwerpunktbereich Prüfungstraining entscheidet die richtige Betonung oft über die Note?

In standard written German, you normally should not leave out dass here. After verbs like sagen, glauben, denken, wissen, a full clause as object is typically introduced by dass:

Sie sagt, dass …
Er glaubt, dass …
Ich weiß, dass …

In casual spoken German, some speakers do drop dass:

Sie sagt, sie kommt später.

But in careful, standard, especially academic German you are expected to keep dass:

Die Dozentin sagt, dass …

For learners, it’s safest to always use dass in such sentences.

Why is Prüfungstraining capitalized?

Because Prüfungstraining is a noun, and all nouns are capitalized in German.

You can recognize it as a noun because:

It names a thing/concept (a type of training/course).
It can take an article: das Prüfungstraining.
It appears inside a noun phrase: Schwerpunktbereich Prüfungstraining.

Course and program names in German often use such nouns, and they are always written with a capital initial.

What is Dozentin, and why is it feminine? What would the masculine form be?

Dozentin is the feminine form of Dozent and means "female lecturer" or "female instructor" (often at a university or college).

Forms:

Masculine: der Dozent
Feminine: die Dozentin
Plural (mixed or male group): die Dozenten
Plural (only women): die Dozentinnen

The ending -in is the regular way to form feminine job titles in German:

Lehrer → Lehrerin
Student → Studentin
Arzt → Ärztin

So Die Dozentin tells you explicitly the lecturer is female.

Is Schwerpunktbereich Prüfungstraining one big unit, and is this kind of structure typical in academic German?

Yes, Schwerpunktbereich Prüfungstraining functions as one noun phrase, where:

Schwerpunktbereich = focus area / specialization area
Prüfungstraining = the specific topic/track of that area

German could theoretically write something like Prüfungstraining-Schwerpunktbereich, but that looks heavy. Instead, academic language prefers:

general noun + specifying noun (without article)

Common patterns:

Modul Statistik – statistics module
Seminar Literaturdidaktik – seminar (on) literature didactics
Schwerpunktbereich Arbeitsrecht – specialization area labour law

So Schwerpunktbereich Prüfungstraining follows a very typical academic naming pattern.

Could I say Die richtige Betonung entscheidet oft die Note instead of …entscheidet oft über die Note?

No, that is not idiomatic in this meaning.

The usual patterns are:

(jemand) entscheidet über etwas – someone decides about something
etwas entscheidet über etwas – something is decisive for something
(jemand) entscheidet etwas – to decide something (as a clear decision)

In your meaning ("this factor determines the grade"), German uses:

über die Note entscheiden

So:

Die richtige Betonung entscheidet oft über die Note. ✅
Die richtige Betonung entscheidet oft die Note. ❌ (sounds wrong/unidiomatic in standard German)