Rhetoric is language that is used for a purpose, but one of the main purposes of rhetoric that people first think of is to persuade the readers. The reason I understand rhetoric this way is due to terms such as a “rhetorical question”, which describes a question that is not supposed to be answered but is used in persuasive essays or speeches to prove a point. I have also heard the word “rhetorician” to describe people who are skilled at speeches. “Rhetoric” is often used when discussing speeches because speeches are a form of language that need to captivate an audience to inform them, inspire them, or convince them to join the speaker’s cause. Another phrase that I think of when I hear the word “rhetoric” is the phrase “empty rhetoric”, often used when someone can speak impressively, but what they are saying lacks significant meaning behind it. Such as when a politician makes lofty promises and says what people want to hear but they do not have a real plan to actually go through with what they have promised. Terms and phrases such as these contribute to the common understanding that rhetoric is confined to persuasive language that is mostly delivered in a spoken way.
Although many people understand rhetoric as only being about speaking persuasively, it actually can be any form of language (written or spoken) that has meaning and a purpose behind it. The purpose is not limited to just persuasive writing, it could be anything from trying to convey information to trying to entertain to any other purpose. This more modern and less specific understanding of rhetoric allows us to study pieces of writing that are different types and which have a variety of purposes. Rhetoric is any piece of language with a purpose to it.
Molly's Rhetoric Blog 