1. By David McCullough
No Time to Read?
Rere, Pakusmanto, Wijaya, Hedi – Sampoerna University
EAP3 – Mr. Eka Budiartha

2. About Author
David McCullough is a biographer, historian, lecturer, and teacher.
He holds twenty-one honorary degrees and has received many awards
for his writing.
He wrote many books such as Truman (1992), John Adams (2001), The
Epic Story of Building the Brooklyn Bridge (2001), 1776 (2005), etc.
“No Time to read?” appeared in the April 18, 2000, issue of Family Circle.

3. What is the Essay About?
McCullough talks about reading for the understanding of
the life, wisdom, adventure and pleasure.
McCullough persuade people to read more.
McCullough slightly disagreed with the statement
there is no time for reading
READING
TIME

4. Summary of Essay*
In his essay “No Time to Read”, David McCullough talks about reading for the understanding of the life,
wisdom, adventure and pleasure.
The essay discusses the issue for reading times for all people. And he gives the statistics about
the average of how long American spend time for watching television, which is more than 25 hours by
week that make it four hours by day. And he tells about the reader a rate 250 words by one minute so, if
they spend their time in reading the hours can be more worth.
Mr. McCullough makes a wonderful essay about the ways that you can use it if you do not have
time for reading. The author gives the ideas like to take a great author and start to read all the books
that he or she wrote in the past or the latest one.
The author talk about the most important thing in life now is the technology that makes everything
easy. Now, the information can be accessed by one click. However, the people still have difficulty time
managing their time for reading.
“
* This is just short and unprepared summary

5. Analysis of Essay
Thesis Statement
In his essay “No Time to Read”, David McCullough talks about reading for the
understanding of the life, wisdom, adventure and pleasure. Paragraph 10-12
…The greatest of all avenues to learning—to wisdom, adventure, pleasure, insight, to
understanding human nature, understanding ourselves and our world and our place in it—
is in
reading books.
Read for life, all your life. Nothing ever invented provides such infinite reward for time
spent, as a good book.
Read for pleasure. Read what you like, and all you like. Read literally to your heart’s
content. Let one book lead you to another. They nearly always do.

6. Analysis of Essay
Opening
He begin the article with Story that related to the topic
In the paragraph 1-2 McCullough tell the story about Roosevelt, someone who still
can read the Anna Karenina during a cross-country trip.
And it is in one topic with McCullough ideas about limited time and reading.
…Then Roosevelt set off in a borrowed wagon to haul the thieves cross-country to justice.
They headed across the snow covered wastes of the Badlands to the railhead at Dickinson,
and Roosevelt walked the whole way, the entire forty miles. It was an astonishing feat, what
might be called a defining moment in Roosevelt’s eventful life. But what makes it especially
memorable is that during that time, he managed to read all of Anna Karenina.

7. Analysis of Essay
Supporting Details
He support his idea with the data about Americans, in paragraph 4
…Reportedly, the average American does have time to watch twenty-eight hours of television every
week, or approximately four hours a day. The average person, I’m told, reads at a rate of 250 words per
minute. So, based on these statistics, were the average American to spend those four hours a day with a
book instead of watching television, he or she could, in a week, read: the complete poems of T.S. Eliot;
two plays by Thornton Wilder, including Our Town; the complete poems of Maya Angelou; Faulkner’s
The Sound and the Fury; The Great Gatsby; and The Book of Psalms.

8. Analysis of Essay
Content (language)
In the content of the essay, He talked about Technology (Internet) help people to
read easier. In paragraph 6, he used ‘symbolism’. He symbolized internet as
information highway
…But a week is a long time by today’s standards, when information is as available at the touch of a finger.
Information has become an industry, a commodity to be packaged, promoted and marketed incessantly.
The tools for “accessing” data grow ever more wondrous and ubiquitous and essential if we’re to keep in
step, we’ve come to believe. All hail the Web, the Internet, the Information Highway.

9. Analysis of Essay
Content
In the content of the essay, He give kind of tips/suggestion to make people wants to
read more.
He told us to take our favorite author(s) and read all their books. Paragraph 13
…Take up a great author, new or old, and read everything he or she has written. Read about places
you’ve never been. Read biography, history. Read books that changed history. Tom Paine’s Common Sense;
the autobiography of Frederick Douglass; Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring.

10. Analysis of Essay
Structure and Language
In the essay, McCullough made a simple essay, which has short paragraph, and the
essay is less than 2 pages.
He used an easy language to read.
He also give example about the books to read.

11. Analysis of Essay
Closing
In the closing, the author told the story about John Adams who always ask his son,
John Quincy to bring a book wherever he go. Last paragraph
…To carry a book with you wherever you go is old advice and good advice. John Adams urged his son,
John Quincy, to carry a volume of poetry. “You’ll never be alone,” he said, “with a poet in your pocket.”

12. Conclusion
In our opinion, the article makes us think about the time we spend in something
useless. And how we can manage our time for spending more to read (at least) what
we like and use the technology to read more.
In conclusion, the author is very successful in expressing his idea about the important of reading.
He give the idea for more reading by ‘reading to understand the life or for pleasure’.

13. Group 3
Thank You
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