346

Asking Journalistic Questions

All journalists set out to find answers to the same essential questions: Who is involved? What is happening? Where is it happening? When is it happening? Why is it happening? How is it happening? These journalistic questions are also known as the 5 W’s and H. Indeed, asking journalistic questions can help you assess most situations, whether you are planning a project, researching a topic, or evaluating finished work. The following chart shows the questions you could ask in each situation.

5 W’s and H Chart

Journalistic Questions

Observing an Event or Situation

Researching a Topic

Planning a Project

Evaluating a Project

Who?

Who is involved?

Who caused this? Who is most affected by it?

Who is involved with this project? Who will benefit in the end?

Who created each part? Who provided the most help to others?

What?

What is happening?

What is the nature of this? What is the extent?

What goal do we have? What tasks should we complete?

What feature is strongest? What feature is weakest?

Where?

Where is it happening?

Where is this? Where else might it be?

Where will we work? Where will we present?

Where should we present this project?

When?

When is it happening?

When did this first appear? When will it cease?

When is it the project due? When is each task due?

When was it due? When did we complete work?

Why?

Why is it happening?

Why is this important? Why does it impact our lives?

Why are we doing this project? Why will our project stand out?

Why did we choose this project? Why did it turn out as it did?

How?

How is it happening?

How is this useful now? How could it be used in the future?

How will we complete the work? How will others judge what we did?

How did our plan work? How did the team work together?

Your Turn Ask the journalistic questions about an event that just happened or about a new school project.

 

Additional Resources