Kannst du im Kurs bitte mitschreiben?

Because this is a yes/no question in German.

In a normal statement, the conjugated verb usually comes in second position:

• Du kannst im Kurs bitte mitschreiben. = You can take notes in class.

But in a yes/no question, the conjugated verb moves to the first position:

• Kannst du im Kurs bitte mitschreiben?

In real life, this kind of question often functions as a request, not just a literal question about ability.

Here it is usually more like a request:

• Kannst du ... ? = Can you / Could you ... ?

Even though können literally means to be able to, German often uses it the same way English uses can for polite requests.

So in this sentence, the speaker is probably not really asking whether the person is physically capable of taking notes. They are asking them to do it.

Du is the informal word for you when speaking to one person.

So this sentence is informal and would be used with:

• a friend
• a classmate
• someone you know well
• a child or younger person, depending on context

If you wanted the formal version, you would say:

• Können Sie im Kurs bitte mitschreiben?

Notice that with Sie, the verb form changes too:

• du kannst
• Sie können

Im is a contraction of:

• in dem → im

So:

• im Kurs = in the course / in class

This contraction is extremely common in German, just like:

• am = an dem
• zum = zu dem
• vom = von dem

Because im Kurs describes a location: where the note-taking happens.

German uses different cases after prepositions depending on whether you mean:

• location → usually dative
• movement toward a destination → usually accusative

Here, the meaning is in class / during the course, so it is a location or setting:

• in dem Kurs → im Kurs

If it meant movement into a course, then accusative might appear, but that is not the case here.

Kurs usually means:

• course
• class
• sometimes lesson or training session, depending on context

In this sentence, im Kurs most naturally means something like:

• in class
• during the course
• during the lesson/session

So it refers to the class setting, not necessarily a written course syllabus or a school subject in the abstract.

Bitte makes the sentence softer and more polite.

Without bitte:

• Kannst du im Kurs mitschreiben?

With bitte:

• Kannst du im Kurs bitte mitschreiben?

It is similar to please in English.

German bitte is very flexible in position, so you may hear it in different places:

• Kannst du bitte im Kurs mitschreiben?
• Kannst du im Kurs bitte mitschreiben?

Both are natural.

Mitschreiben means something like:

• to take notes
• to write along
• to write down what is being said while listening

It comes from:

• mit- = with / along
• schreiben = to write

So the basic idea is writing along with what is happening.

In a classroom context, mitschreiben usually means taking notes during the lesson.

Yes. Mitschreiben is a separable verb.

Its base form is:

• mitschreiben

But when it is used as the main verb in a normal present-tense clause, the prefix separates:

• Ich schreibe mit.
• Schreibst du im Kurs mit?

In your sentence, however, mitschreiben stays together because it is in the infinitive after the modal verb kannst:

• Kannst du im Kurs bitte mitschreiben?

This is a very common pattern in German:

• Ich kann mitschreiben.
• Du musst aufpassen.
• Wir wollen einkaufen.

Because after a modal verb like können, the second verb goes to the end in the infinitive.

Pattern:

• conjugated modal verb
  • ... + infinitive at the end

So:

• Kannst = conjugated modal verb
• mitschreiben = infinitive at the end

This is standard German word order:

• Ich kann kommen.
• Kannst du helfen?
• Wir wollen heute lernen.

Yes, a little. German word order is somewhat flexible, especially with words like bitte and phrases like im Kurs.

For example, these are all possible:

• Kannst du im Kurs bitte mitschreiben?
• Kannst du bitte im Kurs mitschreiben?

Both sound natural.

The version you have puts a bit of emphasis on the setting im Kurs before bitte. But the difference is small.

What usually does not change is:

• Kannst must come first in the yes/no question
• mitschreiben stays at the end because of the modal verb

It is polite enough in an informal situation, especially because of bitte.

• Kannst du ... bitte ... ? is a normal, friendly way to ask someone to do something.

If you wanted to sound even softer, you could say things like:

• Kannst du im Kurs bitte mitschreiben?
• Könntest du im Kurs bitte mitschreiben? = Could you take notes in class, please?
• Würdest du im Kurs bitte mitschreiben? = Would you take notes in class, please?

The original sentence sounds natural and not rude when speaking to someone you address as du.

Schreiben just means to write.

• Ich schreibe einen Brief. = I am writing a letter.

Mitschreiben is more specific:

• writing along while listening
• taking notes
• writing down what someone says during a lesson, meeting, lecture, etc.

So in a classroom setting:

• schreiben = write
• mitschreiben = take notes / write along

That extra mit- gives the sense of participating in something that is already happening.

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

So in this sentence:

• Kurs is capitalized
• du, bitte, and mitschreiben are not, because they are not nouns

This is one of the most important spelling rules in German.