Five Ws
Encyclopedia
In journalism
, the Five Ws (also known as the Five Ws (and one H), or the Six Ws) is a concept in news style
, research
, and in police
investigation
s that are regarded as basics in information-gathering. It is a formula for getting the "full" story on something. The maxim of the Five W's (and one H) is that for a report to be considered complete it must answer a checklist of six questions, each of which comprises an interrogative word
:
.
In the "news style" for newspaper reporting, the Five W's are facts that should be contained in the "lead" (or lede); after the lead, the article becomes more expository
. This is the inverted pyramid
.
(age 11-14) lessons.
The rhetor Hermagoras of Temnos
, as quoted in pseudo-Augustine's De Rhetorica defined seven "circumstances" (μόρια περιστάσεως 'elements of circumstance') as the loci of an issue:
Cicero
had a similar concept of circumstances, but though Thomas Aquinas
attributes the questions to Cicero
, they do not appear in his writings. Similarly, Quintilian
discussed loci argumentorum, but did not put them in the form of questions.
Victorinus
explained Cicero
's system of circumstances by putting them into correspondence with Hermagoras's questions:
Julius Victor also lists circumstances as questions.
Boethius "made the seven circumstances fundamental to the arts of prosecution and defense":
The question form was taken up again in the 12th century by Thierry de Chartres and John of Salisbury
.
To administer suitable penance
to sin
ners, the 21st canon of the Fourth Lateran Council (1215) enjoined confessors to investigate both sins and the circumstances of the sins. The question form was popular for guiding confessors, and it appeared in several different forms:
The method of questions was also used for the systematic exegesis
of a text.
Later, Thomas Wilson
wrote in English verse:
In 19th century America, Prof. William Cleaver Wilkinson
popularized the "Three W's" – What? Why? What of it? – as a method of bible study in the 1880s, though he did not claim originality. This became the "Five W's", though the application was rather different from that in journalism:
The "Five W's" (and one H) were memorialized by Rudyard Kipling
in his "Just So Stories
" (1902
), in which a poem accompanying the tale of "The Elephant's Child" opens with:
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.
>
By 1917, the "Five W's" were being taught in high-school journalism classes, and by 1940, the "Five W's" were being characterized as old-fashioned and fallacious:
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
, the Five Ws (also known as the Five Ws (and one H), or the Six Ws) is a concept in news style
News style
News style is the prose style used for news reporting in media such as newspapers, radio and television....
, research
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
, and in police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
investigation
Criminal procedure
Criminal procedure refers to the legal process for adjudicating claims that someone has violated criminal law.-Basic rights:Currently, in many countries with a democratic system and the rule of law, criminal procedure puts the burden of proof on the prosecution – that is, it is up to the...
s that are regarded as basics in information-gathering. It is a formula for getting the "full" story on something. The maxim of the Five W's (and one H) is that for a report to be considered complete it must answer a checklist of six questions, each of which comprises an interrogative word
Interrogative word
In linguistics, an interrogative word is a function word used for the item interrupted in an information statement. Interrogative words are sometimes called wh-words because most of English interrogative words start with wh-...
:
- Who is it about?
- What happened?
- Where did it take place?
- When did it take place?
- Why did it happen?
- How did it happen?
In journalism
The principle underlying the maxim is that each question should elicit a factual answer — facts necessary to include for a report to be considered complete. Importantly, none of these questions can be answered with a simple "yes" or "no"Yes and no
Yes and no are two words for expressing affirmatives and negatives respectively in English . Early Middle English had a four-form system, but Modern English has reduced this to a two-form system consisting of 'yes' and 'no'. Some languages do not answer yes-no questions with single words meaning...
.
In the "news style" for newspaper reporting, the Five W's are facts that should be contained in the "lead" (or lede); after the lead, the article becomes more expository
Expository writing
Expository writing is a type of writing where the purpose is to inform, explain, describe, or define the author's subject to the reader. Expository text is meant to deposit information and is the most frequently used type of writing by students in colleges and universities. A well-written...
. This is the inverted pyramid
Inverted pyramid
The inverted pyramid is a metaphor used by journalists and other writers to illustrate the placing of the most important information first within a text...
.
In education
In British education, the Five W's are used in Key Stage 3Key Stage 3
Key Stage 3 is the legal term for the three years of schooling in maintained schools in England and Wales normally known as Year 7, Year 8 and Year 9, when pupils are aged between 11 and 14...
(age 11-14) lessons.
History
This section focuses on the history of the series of questions as a way of formulating or analyzing rhetorical questions, and not the theory of circumstances in general.The rhetor Hermagoras of Temnos
Hermagoras of Temnos
Hermagoras , of Temnos, was an Ancient Greek rhetorician of the Rhodian school and teacher of rhetoric in Rome....
, as quoted in pseudo-Augustine's De Rhetorica defined seven "circumstances" (μόρια περιστάσεως 'elements of circumstance') as the loci of an issue:
- Quis, quid, quando, ubi, cur, quem ad modum, quibus adminiculis.
Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
had a similar concept of circumstances, but though Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas, O.P. , also Thomas of Aquin or Aquino, was an Italian Dominican priest of the Catholic Church, and an immensely influential philosopher and theologian in the tradition of scholasticism, known as Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Communis, or Doctor Universalis...
attributes the questions to Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
, they do not appear in his writings. Similarly, Quintilian
Quintilian
Marcus Fabius Quintilianus was a Roman rhetorician from Hispania, widely referred to in medieval schools of rhetoric and in Renaissance writing...
discussed loci argumentorum, but did not put them in the form of questions.
Victorinus
Gaius Marius Victorinus
Gaius Marius Victorinus was a Roman grammarian, rhetorician and Neoplatonic philosopher. Victorinus was African by birth and experienced the height of his career during the reign of Constantius II...
explained Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
's system of circumstances by putting them into correspondence with Hermagoras's questions:
Julius Victor also lists circumstances as questions.
Boethius "made the seven circumstances fundamental to the arts of prosecution and defense":
- Quis, quid, cur, quomodo, ubi, quando, quibus auxiliis.
The question form was taken up again in the 12th century by Thierry de Chartres and John of Salisbury
John of Salisbury
John of Salisbury , who described himself as Johannes Parvus , was an English author, educationalist, diplomat and bishop of Chartres, and was born at Salisbury.-Early life and education:...
.
To administer suitable penance
Penance
Penance is repentance of sins as well as the proper name of the Roman Catholic, Orthodox Christian, and Anglican Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation/Confession. It also plays a part in non-sacramental confession among Lutherans and other Protestants...
to sin
Sin
In religion, sin is the violation or deviation of an eternal divine law or standard. The term sin may also refer to the state of having committed such a violation. Christians believe the moral code of conduct is decreed by God In religion, sin (also called peccancy) is the violation or deviation...
ners, the 21st canon of the Fourth Lateran Council (1215) enjoined confessors to investigate both sins and the circumstances of the sins. The question form was popular for guiding confessors, and it appeared in several different forms:
- Quis, quid, ubi, per quos, quoties, cur, quomodo, quando.
- Quis, quid, ubi, quibus auxiliis, cur, quomodo, quando.
- Quis, quid, ubi, cum quo, quotiens, cur, quomodo, quando.
- Quid, quis, ubi, quibus auxiliis, cur, quomodo, quando.
- Quid, ubi, quare, quantum, conditio, quomodo, quando: adiuncto quoties.
The method of questions was also used for the systematic exegesis
Exegesis
Exegesis is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially a religious text. Traditionally the term was used primarily for exegesis of the Bible; however, in contemporary usage it has broadened to mean a critical explanation of any text, and the term "Biblical exegesis" is used...
of a text.
Later, Thomas Wilson
Thomas Wilson (rhetorician)
Thomas Wilson was an English diplomat, judge, and privy councillor in the government of Elizabeth I. He is now remembered for his Logique and The Arte of Rhetorique , an influential text...
wrote in English verse:
Who, what, and where, by what helpe, and by whose:
Why, how, and when, doe many things disclose.
In 19th century America, Prof. William Cleaver Wilkinson
William Cleaver Wilkinson
William Cleaver Wilkinson, D.D. was a Baptist preacher, professor of theology, professor of poetry, and literary figure.He popularized the "Three W's and the Five W's"....
popularized the "Three W's" – What? Why? What of it? – as a method of bible study in the 1880s, though he did not claim originality. This became the "Five W's", though the application was rather different from that in journalism:
"What? Why? What of it?" is a plan of study of alliterative methods
for the teacher emphasized by Professor W.C. Wilkinson not as original
with himself but as of venerable authority. "It is, in fact," he says,
"an almost immemorial orator's analysis. First the facts, next the
proof of the facts, then the consequences of the facts. This analysis
has often been expanded into one known as "The Five W's:" "When? Where? Whom?
What? Why?" Hereby attention is called, in the study of any lesson: to the
date of its incidents; to their place or locality; to the person
speaking or spoken to, or to the persons introduced, in the narrative; to
the incidents or statements of the text; and, finally, to the
applications and uses of the lesson teachings.
The "Five W's" (and one H) were memorialized by Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
in his "Just So Stories
Just So Stories
The Just So Stories for Little Children were written by British author Rudyard Kipling. They are highly fantasised origin stories and are among Kipling's best known works.-Description:...
" (1902
1902 in literature
The year 1902 in literature involved some significant new books.-Events:* April - Mark Twain purchases a home in Terrytown, New York.* June 4 - Mark Twain receives an honorary doctorate of literature degree from the University of Missouri....
), in which a poem accompanying the tale of "The Elephant's Child" opens with:
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.
>
By 1917, the "Five W's" were being taught in high-school journalism classes, and by 1940, the "Five W's" were being characterized as old-fashioned and fallacious:
The old-fashioned lead of the five W's and the H, crystallized largely by Pulitzer's "new journalism" and sanctified by the schools, is widely giving way to the much more supple and interesting feature lead, even on straight news stories.
All of you know about — and I hope all of you admit the fallacy of — the doctrine of the five W's in the first sentence of the newspaper story.