Message
The What.
The message of a rhetorical piece is the What—the actual content of the piece. As in what the words say, and what they’re about.
Students often confuse the Message with the Purpose. Just remember that MESSAGE = WHAT. The Purpose has to do with the Why—the opinion rhetor wants to audience to have, or the action she wants it to take. Put it this way: PURPOSE = WHY.
Some years ago, I gave a talk to 300 marketing executives at a major corporation. The subject was “How to Screw Up.” Being a master at screwing up, I felt well qualified for the presentation.