A rhetorical question is a figure of speech in the form of a question posed for its persuasive effect without the expectation of a reply.
Example: "How much longer must our people endure this injustice?"
So would any question for which an answer is not expected be considered rhetorical?
On SE, users are presented the following question.
Have you considered accepting an answer or starting a bounty for this question?
There is no mechanism for responding to the question but it is more reminding than persuasive. Is it a rhetorical question?
rhetorical – used for, belonging to, or concerned with mere style or effect.
By this definition, a question that was crafted (expected) to receive a certain response (such as a loaded question) might also be rhetorical if used merely for it's style or effect.
In my experience, people often say a question is rhetorical if they do not expect (or usually want) an answer but it has little to do with the question being persuasive or not.
Is there an exact set of criteria that can be used to evaluate the context of a question in order to determine if it is in fact rhetorical?
Best Answer
Is there a term for questions which are really instructions?
Those of us who are married will be familiar with the less than rhetorical - "are you planning on going out looking like that?" or "do you want a plate?" as we drop crumbs everywhere.
I'm not sure the "have you considered accepting an answer" is really an instruction, but more a request posed as a question.