I do think practice makes perfect - in fact, I'll go so far as to say that whatever you haven't made a habit via practice before the test simply won't happen during the official test.
For my passage notes, I wrote a bit more than I would have on my scrap paper because I was writing what I was thinking. When I actually write, I use serious abbreviations, because my written notes are just used to jog my memory on where the major pieces of information are located.
My goals on the read-through are:
1) find "The Point" - the author's overall reason for writing the passage. This is not the same thing as the topic, though it is closely related. The topic is what you might see in an encyclopedia: this is about butterfly mating habits. The Point is why the author is writing about butterfly mating habits: the mating habits have been changing and there are several theories as to why (and then the author discusses those theories). Or something like that.
2) Delineate the structure of the passage: the kind of information contained in each paragraph, so that I can use my written notes as an outline to very quickly find the right detailed sentences in the passage when I get a particular specific question.
I'll copy my original notes below and then put next to it what I might've written on my scrap paper <new notes in brackets>:
P1
diatom has periodic behavior assoc. with tides <D prd behav b/c tide>
diatoms burrow in sand during high tide <(up arrow) tide --> D burrow>
emerge during daytime low tide <(down arrow) " --> " emerge (note: write this right below previous line)>
(How do they know when to burrow or emerge?) <(probably wouldn't write this down)>
Hyp: environmental change? <Hyp: env. (triangle)?>
BUT: if remove env. change, they still have the same behavior <BUT: Hyp (with X through it)>
Hyp #2: internal clock <Hyp2: int clck (might go back and add a 1 to first hyp)>
P2
The period of the clock is not fixed though <prd not fxd>
can use env. factors to change the period <env can (triangle) prd>
analogy with a watch <watch anal>
solar + tidal influences <sol, tid infl>
By the time I'm done, I can remember at least half of the stuff I've written down, because the act of thinking about it and jotting down SHORT notes helps me to get everything ordered well in my mind. I'm also writing while I'm thinking / reading - I don't stop and look over at my paper and concentrate on writing. Rather, half the time, I don't even look at the paper while I'm writing. This makes things a little messy sometimes but it keeps my focus where it belongs: on the passage.
Re: Q2, B says "short term," which corresponds to a few weeks. C says "long term," which doesn't.
