No Friend of Mine

By Anonymous (not verified), 16 March, 2026
No Friend of Mine In Gary Paulsen’s book The River, Brain Robeson is a thirteen year old boy who was going to see this father for the summer time. The plane crashed in the middle of the Canadian wilderness and he had nothing but a hachet. Brian is small and wimpy, yet positive. My idea of a friend is that he/she has to be thoughtful and friendly. They have to be helpful, cheerful, clean, brave, smart, loyal, curious, kind, fun, respectable, strong, and tuff. Brian does not fit many of my characteristics mentioned above. His is cheerful, clean, brave, fun, strong, and tuff. Brian could be a good friend, but I do not know how he is around friends. My conclusion is that I would not like Brian Robeson as a friend. He is too wimpy, he was not even trustworthy enough to tell his father the secret. My kind of friend would have had that much common sense, to tell him.
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Response Rubric

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Ideas

The writing . . .

  • presents a clearly stated thesis that focuses on plot, characterization, setting, or theme.
  • includes specific details and quotations from the text to develop or support the thesis.

Organization

  • follows a specific pattern of organization: chronological, order of importance, or logical order.
  • contains an effective beginning, middle, and ending.
  • includes transitions as needed to connect ideas and paragraphs.

Voice

  • sounds believable and informed.
  • reflects the writer’s clear understanding of the literature.

Word Choice

  • exhibits a careful choice of words.
  • explains unfamiliar terms.

Sentence Fluency

  • flows smoothly from one idea to the next.

Conventions

  • follows the standards for punctuation, capitalization, spelling, and grammar.
  • cites quotations correctly.

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