5 Ws

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]