Instead of reading the latest novel, try studying for a few minutes right before hitting the bed. During sleep, the brain strengthens new memories, so there’s a good chance you will remember whatever you review right before dozing off.
Turning the details you need to remember into a phrase or poem or even using mnemonics helps make the information more meaningful. Remember the mnemonic, "My very easy method just showed us nine planets' used for naming the order of the planets orbiting the sun? Similar memory aide can be created an used for anything you like... from the elements of the periodic table to the order of taxa in biology (Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species).
Research suggests we store information more securely when we write it out by hand. So start by recopying the most important notes from the semester onto a new sheet of paper. You could also attempt to answer some previous years' question papers, the benefit of which will be two-fold. Not only will you be studying as you answer (write), you will also get an opportunity to familiarise yourself with the style of the exam.
A new learning technique called “spaced repetition” involves breaking up information into small chunks and reviewing them consistently over a long period of time. So don’t try to memorize the entire periodic table in one sitting”instead learn a few rows every day and review each lesson before starting anything new.
When studying something, don’t stick to one topic. Instead, try browsing through a bunch of different materials in one sitting. What this means is that if you are bored of studying about how the human body works, switch to something a little lighter, like maybe a language or something that requires a different part of the brain like math.
