5W 1H

5W + 1H and Yes - No Question 5W + 1H

: An Effective Approach to Collecting Collecting and Presenting Key Key

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Information ne of the most !niversally !sed tools for information gathering" analysis" organi#ation and presentation is the 5W1H frame$or%& 'his method is !sed across a range of  professions" from process analysts to (!ality engineers to )o!rnalists" to !nderstand and e*plain virt!ally any prolem or iss!e& 'he same method can e !sed to organi#e the $riting of reports" articles" $hite papers" and even $hole oo%s&  'he ,asic Approach 'his approach see%s to ans$er si* asic (!estions in gathering information ao!t nearly any s!)ect: Who" What" When" Where" Why" Why" and Ho$& -ometimes" depending on the conte*t" a second .H. might e !sed: Ho$ /!ch& In )o!rnalism" ne$s story $riting re(!ires that the (!estions to e ans$ered ta%e a asic form: 1& Who is it ao!t0 & What is it ao!t0 2& When did it happen0 3& Where did it happen0 happen0 5& Why did it happen0 4& Ho$ did it happen0 Applying the 5W1H frame$or% to other types of $riting or investigation ta%es some interpretation& 'he order in $hich the ans$ers to the (!estions is presented may vary"  !t the .$hat. is !s!ally addressed first&  What

In )o!rnalism" the .$hat. identifies an event and is often stated in the .lead or lede6". the first paragraph of a ne$s story& 'he .$hat. is the primary s!)ect" the reason the information is eing gathered and presented& Apart from )o!rnalism" it may e stated in a title and in a p!rpose statement& 'he .$hat. may need to e defined" a process that may comprise the remainder of a doc!ment& E*ample : What" specifically"&&&0 specifically"&&&0  Who

A ne$s story identifies $ho an event involves& 'he .$ho. may e part of the lede" and co!ld e the reason the story is ne$s $orthy& In other conte*ts" the .$ho. identifies the  persons or gro!ps the .$hat. concerns& It might descrie the a!dience of a doc!ment" doc!ment" or  those $ho are affected y a policy" process or proced!re& E*ample : Who enefits0  When

A %ey part of a ne$s story stor y is descriing $hen an event happened& Ans$ering the .$hen. indicates any time sensitivity related to the .$hat&. It may e part of an instr!ction regarding the proper point at $hich a action sho!ld e ta%en& -ometimes it may e part of an .If&&&then. scenario of conditional action&

E*ample :

When $ill it start7end0

 Where

A ne$s story reports the location at $hich an event too% place& 'he .$here. descries a geographical or physical location of importance to the .$hat&. At times" the $here may  e less important than other factors& E*ample : Where are yo!0  Why

'he .$hy. is !s!ally the most neglected of the (!estions in the frame$or%& 8e$s stories often lac% information from a!thoritative so!rces to e*plain the .$hy&. In other conte*ts" the .$hy. may e considered irrelevant" partic!larly $hen descriing a policy or proced!re decreed y an organi#ational a!thority& Efforts to ascertain and e*plain the .$hy. may help those affected e more accepting of any change the .$hat. re(!ires& E*ample : Why does that happen0  Ho$

9or )o!rnalists" determining ho$ an event too% place may e nearly as challenging as e*plaining the .$hy". altho!gh more effort is !s!ally p!t to satisfying the (!estion& When descriing policies" processes or proced!res" the ho$ may e the most important  part of the effort& A considerale appetite for !nderstanding ho$ to do something can e fo!nd across a!diences& -ometimes effort foc!ses on the .$hat. $hen more $or% sho!ld e devoted to e*plaining the .ho$&. E*ample : Ho$ m!ch0  Concl!sion 'he 5W1H frame$or% can e applied to any topic at any level of gran!larity to gather" analy#e and present information from the simplest to the most comple*& Attri!ted to a !dyard Kipling poem" 5W1H is the place to start and may e eno!gh to ta%e yo! to the finish&

;es 8o (!estion& E*amples and servations: Homer : Are yo! an angel0 /oe : ;es" Homer& All !s angels $ear 9arrah slac%s& 'he -impsons6 .=irecting a movie is a very overrated )o" $e all %no$ it& ;o! )!st have to say ?yes? or ?no&? What else do yo! do0 8othing& ?/aestro" sho!ld this e red0? ;es& ?@reen0? 8o& ?/ore e*tras0? ;es& ?/ore lipstic%0? 8o& ;es& 8o& ;es& 8o& 'hat?s directing&. !di =ench as Biliane Ba 9le!r in 8ine" D6& Principal /c@ee: Are yo! )!st going to stand there all day0 -onny: 8o ma?am& I mean" yes ma?am& I mean" no ma?am& Principal /c@ee: Well" $hich is it0 -onny: m" no ma?am& Eve Arden and /ichael '!cci in @rease" 1DFG6

'he yes>no (!estion is fo!nd in three varieties: the inverted (!estion" the typical e*emplar of this %ind the inverted (!estion offering an alternative $hich may re(!ire more than a simple yes or no for an ans$er6 and the tag (!estion: Are yo! going0 inversion6 Are yo! staying or going0 inversion $ith alternative6 ;o!?re going" aren?t yo!0 tag6 'he inverted (!estion merely inverts the s!)ect and the first ver of the ver phrase of the corresponding statement pattern $hen that ver is either a modal or an a!*iliary ver or the ver e and sometimes have& 'he (!estion itself may e positive or negative: -he is leaving on Wednesday& Is she leaving on Wednesday0 & & & A positive (!estion appears to e ne!tral as to the e*pected response>>yes or no& Ho$ever" a negative (!estion seems to hold o!t the distinct possiility of a negative response& Are yo! going0 ;es78o& Aren?t yo! going0 8o& onald Wardha!gh" nderstanding English @rammar: A Bing!istic Approach& Wiley> ,lac%$ell" 26 .'here are many different $ays to format (!estions on a s!rvey& Bet?s say yo! $ant to meas!re people?s attit!des to$ard premarital se*& ;o! co!ld as% a simple yes>no (!estion: Are yo! in favor of premarital se*0  ;es  8o r yo! co!ld !se a Bi%ert>type scale $here the (!estion is phrased as a statement&. Annael 8ess Evans and ,ryan & ooney" /ethods in Psychological esearch" nd ed& -age" 116 Also Kno$n As: polar interrogative" polar (!estion" ipolar (!estion

Example of 5w 1h Questions

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WHAT : What do ou want! What do ou mean! What a$e ou doin% now! What a$e ou tal'in% a(out! What )an * do fo$ ou! What do ou li'e to d$in'! WH, : Who is $eadin% now! Who is helpin% ton! Who is %oi% home! Who 'nows the answe$! Who is )omin% he$e! Who a$e ou tal'in% a(out! WHEN : When will ou (e (a)'! When will ou sta$t! When shall we meet! When ou (uild ou$ house! When ou )an help me! When is ou$ (i$thda! WHEE : Whe$e a$e ou %oin%! Whe$e is it! Whe$e )an * sit! Whe$e shall we %o! Whe$e will ou moe to! Whe$e a$e ou now! WHY : Wh a$e ou sad! Wh ou don/t inite me! Wh do ou stud En%lish! Wh doesn/t she sweep the 0oo$! Wh a$e the late! Wh do ou hate me! H,W : How old a$e ou! How lon% will ou sta he$e! How does he loe ou! How do ou answe$ that! How do ou 'now! How mu)h does it )ost