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Sept 28th
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Clinton may very well be the first female United States President

The United States presidential election this year is full of controversies. As source of
almost-comedic tension release, Donald Trump has been kindling his own roast by his often offcolor remarks and bully-like name-calling. Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton has been sitting by the
campfire quietly observing. However, she recently may have started a blaze of her own. During a
speech, she made a negative reference to Trump supporters by stereotyping them as a basket of
deplorables (qtd. in Zurcher). The slip was followed shortly after the secretive handling of her
late health crisis.

With the recent news bashing at Mrs. Clintons unsuitable health condition, Anthony
Zurcher takes on a different view about the election through his article, Will Clinton pay for her
terrible weekend? Anthony Zurcher, an American, has been the North American Senior News
Reporter for the BBC since 2013. The article surrounds the causes of the sudden shift in the
presidential elections spotlight from Donald Trumps seemingly daily faux pas to Hillarys
health and statement issues Zurcher addresses remarks made by Hillary that stereotyped some of
Trumps supporters as well as the secretive and non-transparent way her recent health crisis was
handled by her support staff. True to form, the article is delivered in a quiet, subdued
professional tone. While it may be an American view, the tone is controlled and understated.
Through this article, Zurcher manages to successfully educate his readers about the
consequences and the effects of Clintons recent remarks by developing a trustworthy
relationship with his readers.

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Zurchers article aims at a wide range of audience. However, the primary are the United
Kingdom citizens as BBC is a British-based news channel. Any British who is interested in the
worlds politics may be interested in reading this article about the upcoming United States
presidential election. With its strategic placement under the tab of the BBCs homepage for US
and Canada news, the readers are broaden to many American. Particularly, he intends for the
article to reach the Democrats and the indecisives. These are people who Zurcher aims to clarify
about the Democrats nominee as the media are flushed with interpretation how she is no longer
suitable for running president. Zurchers audience may be young adolescents and the undecided
as there are a high number of undecided in many polls voters who had shown signs of
supporting Mrs. Clinton in August but have wavered in recent days (Zurcher). He wants to give
them insight about the politics through his vocabulary and summary of remarks made by Hillary.

Will Clinton pay for her terrible weekend?" employs several text type conventions in the
article to catch the attention of readers and captivate the readers. The headline is in bold, with its
references to spotlights makes one think of Hollywood or Broadway, not Washington, DC. The
subtitle, Road to the White House, prepares the readers for a trip. This creates a less intense
atmosphere than the usual political articles, which attracts a broader range of audience who
arent used to reading political news. The rhetorical question addresses the issues of Mrs.
Clinton's health and a surprisingly atypical statement that simply is not her usual style. His
intriguing questioning style, Will Mrs. Clintons lumping of half of Mr. Trumps supporters in a
basket of deplorables, alienate voters? and Did her collapse make her health a political

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Achilles heel? are perhaps the key issues on the minds of Clinton supporters as well as those
supporting Trump (Zurcher). Rather pointed and explosive, the questions are tempered by his
almost anecdotal lead-in. As with any political story prefaces the questions, followed by the
questions themselves and then an offering of wisdom As the saying goes, however things are
never as good as you think or as bad as they seem (Zurcher). With these, the author is able to
catch both the excitement of the issues on hand.

Zurcher employs different means to gain the audiences trust rhetorical devices to give
the readers insights about this recent politics breaking news. He uses persuasive language in the
article through the use of diction such as reels" and cycle" to reveals how there are always
secrets in the political world that sometimes get exposed and Mrs. Clintons case is one of them
in a subtle way (Zurcher). Reels usually connotes for fishing, as fishermen would reel the fish;
however, by in this context it signifies the concerns about Clinton that her campaign has been
hiding in and is now open to the public. In addition, cycle" indicates the concern about Mrs.
Clintons repetitive pattern, which undermines the Democratic readers' trust her. By using these
clever word choices, Zurcher appeals to a higher level of thinking. Moreover, the readers are
constantly reminded of the reality in this election through Zurchers repeated rhetorical question,
The Democrat was riding high just a month ago, with pundits and prognosticators wondering
just how big her election victory would be. Now comes the apparent trough. Will she - can she rebound? This creates a more persuasive stance as the author is constantly trying to question
Mrs. Clintons campaign and her popularity. The article utilizes a semi-formal register through
the use of diction such as pundits", Mrs. Clinton" and prognosticators, targeting educated

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adults who are interested in the presidential election (Zurcher). Eventually discounting both of
these incidents as really trivial in nature, the author maintains a stance on the importance of
every action, be it trivial or unnoticed, and the potential damage that could be caused by any
action.

The author continues to maintain a professional tone and employs emotional appeals,
pathos and ethos, to captivate his audience throughout the entire piece of article by appearing as
unbiased on the two candidates as possible. Even though Zurcher questions Hillary Clintons
ability to win this election, at the same time he defends Clinton by providing examples of
previous presidents who concealed their health issues just like Clinton did, John Kennedy, who
had debilitating back pain... Franklin D Roosevelt was loath to be seen in his wheelchair.
(Zurcher). The use of ethos in this article by giving references to previous United States
presidents builds a persuasive reason to boost supporters for the Democratic nominee in a neutral
tone. In addition, his quotes of former Obama campaign manager David Axelrods tweet,
Antibiotics can take of the pneumonia, whats the cure for an unhealthy penchant for privacy
that repeatedly creates unnecessary problems? (qtd. in Zurcher). This tweet reassures
Democratic supporters of Hilarys chance at victory as well as gives Zurcher the credibility as he
continues to back up his view with justifiable sources. Through the use of these quotes, Zurcher
creates an indirect opinion about this upcoming election. He also mentions about the possibility
that Mrs. Clinton can utilize to persuade voters for enduring an illness and attempting to slog
through to attend the 9/11 memorials and this will give her an emotional connection to
Americans that she often lacks. (Zurcher). Through the neutral tone, pathos and ethos, the

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author is able to maintain an unbiased argument as he both states Clintons weaknesses and
strengths which enables the audience to have a clear objective view about Clintons health and
who to support.

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The most important element in most articles that aids readers is the images. The idiom a
picture is worth a thousand words" fits perfectly in this sense as the pictures of Mrs. Clinton
mirrors Zurcher's thoughts of the two nominees, especially Mrs. Clinton. The most striking
visual is Fig. 1 following the headline with Mrs. Clinton in her sunglasses in the center of the
image. However, the key aspect of the visual is the hand that was placed on Mrs. Clinton's
shoulder. This gesture connotes a sympathizing act showing how the Democrat's supporters
understand that Mrs. Clinton, being a human being, is never perfect. In addition, Fig. 1 shows
Mrs. Clinton facing the side and is looking straight ahead of her despite a man's hand on her
shoulder, suggesting her confidence and resilience when dealing with obstacles. Zurcher chooses
this visual to achieve his purpose in giving both sides of the argument by showing a confident
nominee that everyone should be more understanding. Fig 2. is another striking visual in this
Fig. 1

article includes that grabs readers attention is the image of Clinton walking out of a building
with a chalkboard on the right stating Mike Tysons quote, Everyone has a plan til they get
punched in the face." This visual stresses the idea of Clintons possible downfall in her campaign
and uses pathos to reveal a sense of exigency in calling for more Clintons supporters. Overall,
the two images in this article perfectly compliment the article and represent the authors
intentions and opinions about Mrs. Clinton.
Fig. 2

After careful analysis of rhetorical situation, purpose of the author and persona, one can
say that Anthony Zurcher has successfully shown himself as a credible writer that is objective.
His use of the conventions in an article, emotional appeals and complementary images assist the
author to form a connection with the audience to shift their reframed view of the Democrat

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nominee. The article Will Clinton pay for her terrible weekend? displays and explores the
possibilities, consequences and expectations of being a presidential nominee in a rational matter
which is rarely seen in news articles. Zurcher effectively enables his readers to capture a broader
view, both aspects of Clintons remarks, and from there he leaves his article with an open-ended
sentence so the readers can decide and process which party to support and follow.

Works Cited:
Anthony, Zurcher. Will Clinton pays for a terrible weekend? BBC. BBC, 12 Sep, 2016. Web.
13 Sep, 2016.