From the Oxford English Dictionary: "The art of using language so as to persuade or influence others; the body of rules to be observed by a speaker or writer in order that he may express himself with eloquence."
From the same source, "Eloquence": "The action, practice or art of expressing thought with fluencey, force, and appropriateness so as to appeal to the reason or move the feelings."
James J. Murphy, from Renaissance Eloquence: "Rhetoric... mean(s) the attempt to explain the process of human communication. A rhetorician, then, is someone who provides his fellows with useful precepts or directions for organizing and presenting his ideas and feelings to them."
2. Rhetorical florish--technique:use of stylistic devices to give a good appearance to a text.
3. Rhetoric versus reality: a false or unrealistic image that conceals underlying reality.
4. A rhetoric of contemporary writing: rules for composition that promote effective expression of ideas.
5. A rhetoric of popular culture: an anlysis of persuasive effects.
6. A rhetorical analysis of JFK's Houston Ministerial Address: an analyis of the persuasive effects of a particular speech text.