Five W’s
& How

A Squarespace 7.1 Template, and a framework for storytelling.

*

The Five W’s are questions whose answers are considered basic in information gathering or problem solving. They are often mentioned in journalism , research, and investigations.

*Some others commonly add how to the list.

According to the principle of the Five W’s (and One H), a [subject] can only be considered complete if it answers these questions starting with an interrogative word:

  • Who?

    What person or people; which person or people; asks for the identity of someone; used in a direct or indirect question.

  • What?

    Which, especially which of an open-ended set of possibilities.

  • Where?

    In, at or to which place or situation.

  • When?

    At what time? At which time? Upon which occasion or circumstance? Used to introduce direct or indirect questions about time.

  • Why?

    For what cause, reason, or purpose.

  • How?

    To what degree or extent. In what manner. In what state or condition.

Rudyard Kipling Portrait
“I keep six honest serving-men (they taught me all I knew); Their names are What and Why and When and How and Where and Who.”
— Rudyard Kipling