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. They constitute a formula for getting the complete story on a subject. 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:
- Who did that?
- What happened?
- Where did it take place?
- When did it take place?
- Why did that happen?
Some authors add a sixth question, “how”, to the list, though "how" can also be covered by "what", "when", or "where":
