Don't just try and learn the facts
Know the concepts inside out. If you don't know the background and the bigger picture of what you are studying, you have no hope other than relying on memory.
Be careful.........
I sounded exactly the same as you
Came out of it thinking I'd kicked it
but then you get the results..................................
Our teacher is a marking nazi though sh'es seriously mental so I think we were jipped
a lot of people (Im not gunna say most) type heaps faster than they can wrote so that should be grounds to use a laptop because thats gaining an unfair advantage