Logic, Grammar and Rhetoric are the three legs of the medieval seat of higher learning. They formed the trivium, the first part of the Seven Liberal Arts. (The other four, known as the Quadrivium, were Arithmetic, Geometry, Music and Astronomy. All seven were then to be applied to Philosophy.)
The threesome were "trivial" in the sense of being basic, but there was -- and is -- nothing unimportant about them.
Logic teaches how to organize ideas and thoughts.
Grammar identifies the parts of speech and writing, and shows how to set them into clear sentences.
Rhetoric demonstrates how to arrange sentences to persuade readers and listeners.
Taken together, the three teach how to write and present information, thoughts and ideas in a well organized way to effectively inform and persuade readers and listeners.
Problem: Rhetoric got a bad rap when marketers and politicians used the techniques to get folks to agree to things they didn't know they wanted.
Meanwhile, grammar and logic became dull, victims as teachers fell into formulaic techniques that didn't work, and became poor substitutes for competence.
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