The first three chapters of this work establish what Aristotle considers to be the fundamental elements of rhetoric: the types of proof, their appropriate use, and the types of oratory.

In Chapter 1, Aristotle defines Rhetoric through comparison with Dialectic, the method of philosophical debate. He states that everyone uses both Rhetoric and Dialectic, since everyone at some point speaks “to sift or to support theses, and to defend or attack persons” (1). Both are skills that don’t pertain to a particular subject, and both are often practiced by those who have no training. A purpose of the book is to lay out a useable method for Rhetoric.

Aristotle targets the shortcomings of other treatises on Rhetoric. These other works, he argues, focus only on how to succeed through emotional manipulation. They also primarily teach skills for forensic oratory, neglecting the other forms of persuasive speech (especially deliberative oratory). Aristotle sets out to teach Rhetoric correctly, through evidence-based persuasion and encompassing all sorts of oratory.

The second chapter begins with a succinct definition of Rhetoric: “[T]he faculty of discovering in the particular case what are the available means of persuasion” (7). Aristotle turns now to listing these means of persuasion.