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Rhetoric is both a science and an art.

It is a science when it discovers and establishes the laws of discourse, an art when the laws are applied in practice. Rhetoric is therefore the science of the laws of effective discourse or the art of speaking and writing effectively.

The word Rhetoric was first applied to spoken discourse only.

It is derived through the Greek (rhetorik) from (rhetor) a speaker, and accordingly means the art of speaking.  The same general principles underlie and govern both oral and written discourse and hence the meaning of the word was so extended as to include ail kinds of composition. This is its modern sense.

 While Rhetoric was understood to apply only to spoken discourse, it included vocal delivery and hence Elocution was regarded as a part of Rhetoric. In modern times, so much attention has been paid to delivery and since the invention of printing writing has become so important that the oral utterance of a composition is ranked as a distinct art and is no longer treated as a part of Rhetoric.

The reasons for this separation are

1. It is a bodily exercise requiring a special training
2. A person may be a good rhetorician without being a good speaker
3. Penmanship would belong to Rhetoric by as good a right as Elocution

ARTICLE FOUND IN:  The Elements of Rhetoric and Composition A Text-book for Schools and Colleges By David Jayne Hill.  Download and print out this 303 page free public domain book (written in 1893!) on Rhetoric here.