What Dr Sloth said.
It depends a little on what you are learning also.
There is a website which uses the science of memory to help people learn various things:
http://www.memrise.com/The trick is to blitz learn for short periods 10-15 minutes - passively [can you point it out in an MCQ], actively [fill in the blank] etc. - then reinforce it a couple of days later. You need flashcards to get that to work though.
It's probably a bit late at this stage of your study, but I've used the journey method mnemonic:
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTIM_05.htmBasically, I use rooms in buildings I'm familiar with [house, apartment block, friend's houses, community buildings, the gym office, your first school etc.]. I use every corner of every room as a "register" into which I put a particular fact to remember. Then I go through each room in turn creating a path in my mind.
Then I represent a fact as a small "video clip" of images that represent the facts I need to remember.
As an example, as at some stages I had to learn off lots of numbers, I represent various numbers by certain images
a spider is 8 [legs], a cat is 9 [lives], Highlander is 1 [there can be only...], and represent multiples of 10 as decades - 40's would be Nazis [WWII], 50's Elvis, 70's disco John Travolta. So a giant Nazi spider would be 48.
The trick is to use outrageous images preferably in a "video clip" - i.e. they aren't simply standing there. Try to involve all your senses - smell, sound, taste, flashing lights, strong emotions you've experienced - both good and bad. Use things that have some meaning to you to give the stuff you now are learning meaning [even if at the start it
There is a bit of a knack trying to find images to represent concepts - the images have to be quite specific: "is that a bird - or a particular type of bird, I can't remember...". It is better to go with
e.g. say you want to make an image for "emancipation" - creating an image of some guy having handcuffs removed is ambiguous.
A Man City fan with constipation. [MAN-C-'Pation] for me would be more memorable though...
A seriously useful technique when you get the knack of it.
Topic: Revision tips