Seth Whitley

Professor Malcolm Campbell

English 1103
10/3/16
Topic Proposal: What Are the Most Effective Methods of Sustainable Water Purification in
Uganda, Africa
Introduction/Overview
Throughout the entire world, there are several notable factors that developing countries
suffer dearly from. Among the most prevalent is lack of sanitary water. According to Pacific
Institute Publications (Appropedia), less than 1% of drinkable water is accessible to humans and

Comment [1]: I think there is some way to make this

into one sentence with a little more impact. Also, I
would refrain from putting a preposition at the end of a
sentence ("from").

12% of the worlds upper class citizens use 85% of that available drinking water. Water is
more important than many people initially understand as it not used solely for drinking purposes.

Comment [2]: Sentence seems a little jumbled.

Pure water must be used for sanitation; whether it be cleaning hands before meals or cleaning
wastewater from sewage. Areas of the world affected by both desertification and poverty have
the worst conditions to create sustainable purified water. This makes Sub-Saharan Africa a

Comment [3]: I don't know how strict Campbell is going

to be on grammar, but sentences divided by a semicolon have to contain two independent clauses. This is
an incomplete clause. Maybe use a comma?

prime candidate. Given that Lake Victoria, the third largest lake by surface area in the world
(Worldatlas.com), the opportunity for water purification through this body of water could have

Comment [4]: This doesn't make sense. I would replace

the comma after Victoria with "is."

potentially amazing affects on the country of Uganda. This research topic outline will focus on
what the most effective method for water purification is in Uganda, Africa.
According to The Water Project, 319,000,000 people who live in Sub- Saharan Africa do
not have access to improved reliable drinking water sources. Individuals living in developing, or
third world, countries do not have the economic ability to create sustainable water purifying
locations without some help. This is not a new problem, as water purification has always been

Comment [5]: Wow! I didn't know the number was that

high

an issue since the beginning of time. However, since the beginning of the industrial revolution,
pollution of the environment has been a self-evident fact. Pollutionissues.com provides
information that shows pollution grew exponentially at the beggining of the Industrial

Comment [6]: "always" and "since the beginning of

time" mean the same thing in this case. I would omit
always, because the latter has more impact.

Comment [7]: I added an L to Industria

Revolution. It stands to reason that most developing countries will go through a micro-industrial
revolution in order to catch up, and compete with, the surrounding developed countries. The
pollution and waste from these new factories and products seriously hamper the advancement of

Comment [8]: maybe use a synonym? It seemed like a

peculiar word choice

water purification.

Comment [9]: This seems so obvious after reading it,

but I probably wouldn't have put two and two together.
Great point, and great end to the paragraph, in my
opinion.

UNICEF is one of the largest benefactors of Sub-Saharan Africas problem with water
purification. They have developed a new water filter that is economically cheap and uses lowwaste products. They also invest a lot of money and time in helping the extemporaneous
problems surrounding water purification. They will be an important group to be discussed
throughout the inquiry project.

Initial Inquiry Question(s)

Specifically for this topic, the question will be focused on the best method. What is the

Comment [10]: This seems like a strange comment to

post at the end of the section, not much of a closer if
that makes any sense. Maybe provide some other
examples of aid to make it seem less blunt?
Comment [11]: This ending paragraph really rounds out
the introduction and overview by introducing a
significant organization that many people recognize
and connecting it to the premise of your essay.

best method for sustainable water purification in Uganda Africa? Are large scale water plants in
communities the best option, or small scale, mass produced, personal micro filters the most
effective method?

Comment [12]: maybe have a few more specific

questions? I'd ask Campbell first, though, to see how
many he wants.

My Interest in this Topic

Four years ago, I had a powerful experience. I was helping through a mission trip to
Nebbi Town, Uganda. While I was there I saw a little girl walk three miles to the one pump in
the village. She had a few plastic water bottles with her and she began to pump thick, red sludge
that passed as water into her bottles before journeying back to her hut. Seeing this young girl go

Comment [13]: That is so heartbreaking. I can see why

you want to research this further.

to such great lengths for such a terrible goal while I had dozens of bottles back in my room broke
my heart and showed me a problem that needed fixing. Upon coming to UNCC, I found out
about the environmental focus in Civil Engineering and realized there was a path I could take to
make a difference. I had always been interested in the natural environment and my math classes

Comment [14]: The anecdote and the connection to

your educational paths make this very powerful.

so following this topic seemed like a plausible path to go on. I hope to learn more about the
political effects of resource control as war lords often take control of dugged wells, and other
resources such as food and land.

Comment [15]: THIS IS SO INSPIRING

Next Steps
In order to further research this topic, I will make use of several resources. Atkins library
has several books and journals about the effects and causes of the lack of resource sustainability
in Sub-Saharan Africa. UNICEFs website also has a lot of information that has been validated
and will be used for statistical purposes. Finding different methods of water purification is
another path that I will take in order to find alternative methods of large scale vs small scale
water purification.

Comment [16]: I would write out UNICEF's full name

early in the actual paper, and then continue to use the
well-known acronym.
Comment [17]: Great idea! It would be wonderful to find
out about alternative water purification methods that
are available now. Maybe there is a fundraiser you
could do to help people get access to the tools that are
available out there? Just a thought...
Comment [18]: Use "versus"
Comment [19]: I don't know if this is true, but I've heard
that two spaces after a period isn't technically
considered proper form anymore. But overall, I had a
LOT of trouble trying to find anything wrong with this
proposal!