So as of now I've got all the grammar stuff down but because there's so many rules to remember, I always screw up something simple one bit or another every few sentences...(mostly word order,dative or accusative articles etc) whats the things to look for when going back over a piece I wrote?
If you're making mistakes to do with word order, maybe you're rushing too much when you initially write the sentences. Just follow (and edit) the basic SvTOMP format and construct your German sentences in a sticklebrick-like manner.
SvTOMP = subject -> verb -> time -> object -> manner -> place. Master this. Check every sentence to see if it follows this after you write it. You can also vary it by moving something else to the start...
E.g. TvSOMP (Morgen werde ich eine Banane schnell in der Stadt finden // Tomorrow I'm going to quickly find a banana in the city)
Something I did at the start of every single writing SAC was write down a table for adjectival endings and all of the prepositions. I'd separate prepositions that are exclusive to accusative, the dative ones, and the swinger ones. Then, whenever I need to use one in the essay, I'd refer back to my plan to ensure I get it right 100% of the time.
Proofreading is pretty difficult because we tend not to pick up on mistakes we make the first time. To this end, I think it's better to take a preventative approach (write carefully with purpose) instead of trying to band-aid everything at the end. Silly mistakes are inevitable, and you'll basically always make at least one mistake an essay in German. That's just the nature of doing a LOTE.
Also whats the best way to take down everything during listening, I'd like to know your techniques.
Use your reading time to figure out what info you'll need from the text and what will be useless. In this way, you'll save time during the actual playing of the audio so you don't write down irrelevant info. On the first run, I try to make sense of everything (e.g. understand the main arguments a character brings up, get a general idea of what they're discussing and the relevance to the questions) and then on the second run I'll take notes in German with specific words/quotes I need to answer a question. If it's listening German/responding English, I'd rarely write German notes unless I don't know the direct translation. Also, use shorthand symbols and save time. The listening section is, in my opinion, the hardest on the exam, because you are only exposed to the material for a limited time.
Best of luck.