Abstract The most important event on American politics of 2016 was the American presidential election。 Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump were the two final candidates, and finally Trump won。 As is known to all, being a kind of mass media, news is believed to follow the principles of “objectivity”, “fairness” and “independence”。 But unlike previous elections, this time before the final result came out, nearly all American mainstream media tended to support Hillary, which could be seen from the use of rhetorical devices in the news reports。 89512

This thesis discusses the persuasive nature of rhetorical devices based on several news reports on the 2016 American presidential election in The Washington Post。 The analysis finds out that simile, metaphor, rhetorical question, allusion, sarcasm, antithesis, parallelism, hyperbole, pun, parody and understatement are eleven specific rhetorical devices adopted in the news reports。 The purpose of using these rhetorical devices is to persuade readers to stand on Hillary’s side and persuade readers that Trump is not eligible to become the president。 

The result of the thesis can reveal the American underlying ideologies of capital-driven modes。 The result can also help readers comprehend the profound meaning of English news reports and make their own judgments to take a firm stance。 

Keywords: American presidential election; rhetorical devices; persuasion; ideologies

《华盛顿邮报》关于2016美国总统大选的新闻报道中的修辞手法

摘  要2016年美国政坛最重要的事件是美国总统大选。希拉里·克林顿和唐纳德·特朗普是最终候选人，最终特朗普当选总统。然而众所周知的是作为大众传媒，新闻一直被认为遵循客观、公正、自主的原则。但本次选举和以往不同，在最终结果出来前几乎所有的美国主流媒体倾向于支持希拉里，从新闻报道中修辞手法的使用可见一斑。

本篇论文基于《华盛顿邮报》中若干篇关于2016美国总统大选的新闻报道讨论了修辞手法的劝说本质。研究发现新闻报道中采用明喻、暗喻、修辞性疑问句、典故、讽刺、对照、平行、夸张、双关、仿效和低调陈述等十一种修辞手法，目的是为了劝说读者支持希拉里，劝说读者形成特朗普没有资格当选美国总统的观点。

本篇论文揭露美国社会资本至上的潜在意识形态，同时帮助读者理解英语新闻报道的深层含义从而做出判断坚定立场。

毕业论文关键词：美国总统大选；修辞手法；劝说；意识形态

Contents

1。 Introduction 1

1。1 The Persuasive Nature of Rhetoric 1

1。2 Purpose and Significance of the Study 2

1。3 Research Data and Methodology 2

2。 Analysis of News Reports about the 2016 American Presidential Election in The Washington Post 4

2。1 A Brief Introduction of the 2016 American Presidential Election 4

2。2 Rhetorical Devices Used in News Reports 5

2。2。1 Simile and Its Function 6

2。2。2 Metaphor and Its Function 7

2。2。3 Rhetorical Question and Its Function 8

2。2。4 Allusion and Its Function 9

2。2。5 Sarcasm and Its Function 10

2。2。6 Antithesis and Its Function