<P>This reference guide surveys the field, covering rhetoric's principles, concepts, applications, practical tools, and major thinkers. Drawing on the scholarship and expertise of 288 contributors, the <EM>Encyclopedia</EM> presents a long-needed overview of rhetoric and its role in contemporary education and communications, discusses rhetoric's contributions to various fields, surveys the applications of this versatile discipline to the teaching of English and language arts, and illustrates its usefulness in all kinds of discourse, argument, and exchange of ideas.</P>?