Using Journalist’s Questions
Journalists use a set of questions when they report a story. You’ve most likely heard of them before—“Who? What? Why? When? Where? How?” Using journalist’s questions (also known as asking strategic questions) can be a good way to begin thinking comprehensively about your topic. You can ask the questions in any order, but remember some questions may need to be asked more than once (for example, there may be more than one “who”), and you may need to ask not only the “why” of the topic but also the “why not.”
In a research paper about the sea level of Long Beach Island, the writer began by asking journalist’s questions:
| What? | the rise in sea level of Long Beach Island |
| Who? | it affects the Long Beach Island community (residents and officials); it affects federal agencies |
| Where? | Long Beach Island, New Jersey |
| When? | both an immediate threat and long term threat |
| Why? | rise in sea level comes from global warming and green house effect |
| How? | Prevent by raising islands (pumping sand onto beaches) |
In this example, you can see that there may be more than one “who.”
From this point, the writer could use the answers to her questions to develop a
thesis for
a research paper.
Grant Meeting - 5/22/2013
Open House in Victoria - 5/23/2013
Degree Information Session - 5/29/2013
President's Regional Advisory Board - 6/4/2013
Vietnam War Conference - 6/13/2013
Vietnam War Conference - 6/14/2013
Freshman Advising and Preregistration Day - 6/15/2013
UHV SBDC staff members earn global certifications - 05/17/2013
UHV receives designation as Hispanic-Serving Institution - 05/17/2013
UHV graduates earn among highest first-year paychecks in Texas - 05/16/2013
UHV student receives Salute to Nurses scholarship - 05/16/2013
UHV to offer robotics, digital simulation camp for high school students - 05/16/2013
SBDC seminar to offer free advice on selling to governments - 05/16/2013
UHV open house to help students prepare for summer, fall semesters - 05/16/2013
