Who What Where When and Why?
The Five Ws, Five Ws and one H, or the Six Ws are questions whose answers are considered basic in information-gathering. They are often mentioned in journalism (cf. news style), research, and police investigations.[1] They constitute a formula for getting the complete story on a subject.[2] According to the principle of the Five Ws, a report can only be considered complete if it answers these questions starting with an interrogative word:[3]
Who is it about?
What happened?
When did it take place?
Where did it take place?
Why did it happen?
Some authors add a sixth question, “how”, to the list, though "how" can also be covered by "what", "where", or "when":[3]
How did it happen?
Each question should have a factual answer — facts necessary to include for a report to be considered complete.[4] Importantly, none of these questions can be answered with a simple "yes" or "no".
In British education, the Five Ws are used in Key Stage 3 (age 12–14) lessons.[5
The Five Ws, Five Ws and one H, or the Six Ws are questions whose answers are considered basic in information-gathering. They are often mentioned in journalism (cf. news style), research, and police investigations.[1] They constitute a formula for getting the complete story on a subject.[2] According to the principle of the Five Ws, a report can only be considered complete if it answers these questions starting with an interrogative word:[3]
Who is it about?
What happened?
When did it take place?
Where did it take place?
Why did it happen?
Some authors add a sixth question, “how”, to the list, though "how" can also be covered by "what", "where", or "when":[3]
How did it happen?
Each question should have a factual answer — facts necessary to include for a report to be considered complete.[4] Importantly, none of these questions can be answered with a simple "yes" or "no".
In British education, the Five Ws are used in Key Stage 3 (age 12–14) lessons.[5
The Five Ws, Five Ws and one H, or the Six Ws are
Who is it about?
What happened?
When did it take place?
Where did it take place?
Why did it happen?
Some authors add a sixth question, “how”, to the list, though "how" can also be covered by "what", "where", or "when":[3]
How did it happen?
Each question should have a factual answer — facts necessary to include for a report to be considered complete.[4] Importantly, none of these questions can be answered with a simple "yes" or "no".
In British education, the Five Ws are used in Key Stage 3 (age 12–14) lessons.[5
The Five Ws, Five Ws and one H, or the Six Ws are questions whose answers are considered basic in information-gathering. They are often mentioned in journalism (cf. news style), research, and police investigations.[1] They constitute a formula for getting the complete story on a subject.[2] According to the principle of the Five Ws, a report can only be considered complete if it answers these questions starting with an interrogative word:[3]
Who is it about?
What happened?
When did it take place?
Where did it take place?
Why did it happen?
Some authors add a sixth question, “how”, to the list, though "how" can also be covered by "what", "where", or "when":[3]
How did it happen?
Each question should have a factual answer — facts necessary to include for a report to be considered complete.[4] Importantly, none of these questions can be answered with a simple "yes" or "no".
In British education, the Five Ws are used in Key Stage 3 (age 12–14) lessons.[5
The Five Ws, Five Ws and one H, or the Six Ws are