Five Ws

The Five Ws is a checklist used in journalism to ensure that the first paragraph (the "lead") contains all the essential points of a story. As far back as 1913, reporters were taught that the lead should answer these questions:^[1]

Who? - Asking about a person or animal
What? - Asking about an object or action
When? - Asking about a time
Where? - Asking about a place
Why? - Asking about a reason or cause
How? - Asking about the way something is done ^[2]

In modern times, journalism students are still taught that these are the fundamental six questions of newswriting.^[3] Reporters also use the "5 Ws" to guide research and interviews and to raise important ethical questions, such as "How do you know that?".^[4]

^ Bleyer, Willard Grosvenor (1913). "IV. Structure and Style in News Stories". Newspaper Writing and Editing. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin. p. 66. Archived from the original on December 18, 2023. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
^ https://knowadays.com/blog/how-to-use-the-5-ws-and-1-h/
^ "Writing Leads | NMU Writing Center". nmu.edu. Archived from the original on December 7, 2023. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
^ "The 5 W's (and How) of writing for the web". The Buttry Diary. November 14, 2011. Archived from the original on January 29, 2024. Retrieved January 29, 2024.

[1] Bleyer, Willard Grosvenor (1913). "IV. Structure and Style in News Stories". Newspaper Writing and Editing. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin. p. 66. Archived from the original on December 18, 2023. Retrieved January 28, 2024.

[2] ttps://knowadays.com/blog/how-to-use-the-5-ws-and-1-h/

[:3-3] "Writing Leads | NMU Writing Center". nmu.edu. Archived from the original on December 7, 2023. Retrieved January 29, 2024.

[4] "The 5 W's (and How) of writing for the web". The Buttry Diary. November 14, 2011. Archived from the original on January 29, 2024. Retrieved January 29, 2024.

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