The original intent of affirmative action was to "level the playing field" and ensure minority groups were treated fairly during the employment process. 

Using the original goal of affirmative action as a framework, write a paper that analyzes the evolution of affirmative action over the last 40+ years. 

You must draw conclusions based on research from outside resources and answer the following question in your paper, "Has affirmative action been consistently and effectively used to create a more robust and productive workforce?"

The requirements below must be met for your paper to be accepted and graded:

• Write between 750 - 1,250 words (approximately 3 - 5 pages) using Microsoft Word in APA style, see example below.
• Use font size 12 and 1" margins.
• Include cover page and reference page.
• At least 80% of your paper must be original content/writing.
• No more than 20% of your content/information may come from references.
• Use at least three references from outside the course material, one reference must be from EBSCOhost. Text book, lectures, and other materials in the course may be used, but are not counted toward the three reference requirement.
• Cite all reference material (data, dates, graphs, quotes, paraphrased words, values, etc.) in the paper and list on a reference page in APA style.

References must come from sources such as, scholarly journals found in EBSCOhost, CNN, online newspapers such as, The Wall Street Journal, government websites, etc. Sources such as, Wikis, Yahoo Answers, eHow, blogs, etc. are not acceptable for academic writing.

A detailed explanation of how to cite a source using APA can be found here (link).