Experiencing Research Writing through Pirsig's 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.'

To incorporate Robert Pirsig's "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" into a course on writing may be to subvert the author's purpose. Pirsig meant for his book to be read aimlessly--like a Zen experience whose goal is only realized after it is achieved. Pirsig might even object to the "teaching" of "Zen and the Art" since college courses are driven by purpose and agenda. Nevertheless, the book may be fruitfully used as a tool when preparing students for the task of writing a research paper. Here are six reasons that the study of the book supports the process approach to writing of all types. One, students are interested in "Zen and the Art" for its story line, so they will read it. Two, students enjoy solving the mystery of Phaedrus's identity. To do so, they must gather facts. Three, reading a long, dense text over several weeks, students can practice and gain confidence in their ability to gather significant evidence, to cite correctly, and to combine evidence into an organized essay response. Four, students can follow one or several themes through the book. When they write more than one paper on a single topic, they can see how their perspective changes over time. Five, form follows function in "Zen and the Art," so students learn how verb tense and ordinary words can contribute to a text's success. Six, the book teaches that the Zen experience requires active engagement, so students learn that they must become actively involved in their research paper topics if they are to produce well-written papers. Contains three references. (TB)