Seminar 4

Essay writing structure

Essay outline Content Details
Identify purpose of essay Usually an introduction will state the desired outcome
Outline scope of the essay
e.g. “In this essay I aim to showcase the differences
Introduction State thesis
between the Romanian and the American legal
systems in terms of x and how this influences case
law”
Argument in favor of your The body will contain at least 2-3 paragraphs with this
view structure, and usually a paragraph with an opposing
Supporting details point of view can be introduced to show a different
Body
perspective. All conclusions must be tied in some way
Conclusion to the main purpose of the essay. Avoid personal
opinions until the conclusion if possible.
Restate purpose Here you can introduce a small paragraph with an
Summarise your arguments opinion you have that is related to the essay that is
related to the purpose of the essay.
Conclusion Optional: personal opinion
Restate the purpose of the essay and make a summary
of all arguments and conclusions. And with broad
statement about the subject.

Linking words
Sequence Addition Contrast
next moreover however
then and in contrast (to)
subsequently in addition conversely
first/firstly furthermore instead
second/secondly also on the contrary
third/thirdly as well as otherwise
last/lastly besides (this) however
to begin nevertheless
furthermore nonetheless
although
despite/in spite of
in comparison
on the one hand
on the other hand
Reason Opinion Ending
because (of) personally to sum up
as in my opinion in conclusion
since in my view to conclude
due to
owning to
 Types of Crimes
1. Read the text below, paying attention to the underlined words
2. Translate
1. The number of acts that are deemed as criminal is nearly endless. Traditionally, though, crimes are
grouped into six broad categories, or types: violent crime (crimes against persons), property crime,
public order crime, white-collar crime, cyber crime, and organized crime.
2. Violent crime. Crimes against persons, because they cause others to suffer harm or death, are
referred to as violent crimes; e.g. murder, rape, robbery, abduction, battery, aggravated assault etc.
Each of these violent crimes is further classified by degree, depending on the circumstances
surrounding the criminal act. These circumstances include the intent of the person committing the
crime, whether a weapon was used, and the level of pain and suffering experienced by the victim.
3. Property crime. The most common type of criminal activity is property crime in which the goal of
the offender is to obtain some form of economic gain or to damage property; e.g. arson, burglary,
larceny, forgery, obtaining goods by false pretences, receiving stolen goods. etc, Robbery is also a form
of property crime, as well as a violent crime, because the offender seeks to gain the property of another.
4. Public order crime. Historically, societies have always outlawed activities that are considered to be
contrary to public values and morals; e.g. riot, violent disorder, a f f r a y , disorderly conduct public
drunkenness, prostitution, pornography, gambling and illegal drug use, Some of them are sometimes
referred to as victimless crimes because they normally harm only the offender. From a broader
perspective, however, they are deemed detrimental to society as a whole because they may create an
environment that gives rise to property crimes and violent crimes.
5. White-collar crime. Crimes that typically occur only in the business context are popularly referred
to as white-collar crimes. The term ‘white-collar crime' is commonly used to mean an illegal act or
series of acts committed by an individual or business entity using some nonviolent means. Usually, this
kind of crime is committed in the course of a legitimate occupation e.g. embezzlement, bribery,
bankruptcy fraud, insider trading, theft of trade secrets, mail and wire fraud, etc.
6. Cyber crimes are mostly not "new" crimes. Rather, they are existing crimes in which the Internet is
the instrument of wrongdoing. They are committed with computers and occur in cyberspace. The
examples of these crimes are:
- cyber theft: a thief with internet access could, in theory, steal data stored in a networked computer
anywhere on the globe;
- financial crimes: computer networks provide opportunities for employees to commit crimes that
involve serious economic losses, e.g. sabotage, fraud, embezzlement, and the theft of proprietary data,
such as trade secrets or other intellectual property;
- identity theft: it occurs when the wrongdoer steals a form of identification – such as a name, date of
birth, or Social Security number - and uses the information to access the victim's financial resources;
- cyberstalking: the law made it a crime to harass or follow a person while making a "credible
t h re a t ” that puts the person in reasonable fear for his safety or the safety of his immediate family;
- hacking: when wrongdoers use one computer to break into another without authorization with the
purpose either to commit cyber theft or to cause random data errors on others' computers or otherwise
disrupt the t a rg e t ’s business.
7. Organized crime, Ongoing conspiratorial enterprise engaged in illicit activities carried out by a
group of people who are arranged in pyramid shaped hierarchy. Official usage of this term specifies
that the groups engaged in these activities are motivated by profit, operate over a period of time and are
willing to use violence as well as actively seeking to buy political patronage for immunity from
exposure and prosecution. Organized crime, in contrast to white-collar crime, operates illegitimately
by, among other things, providing illegal goods and services. Modern organized criminal enterprises
make money by specializing in a variety of crimes, including protection rackets, gambling, smuggling,
bootlegging, trading in prostitution, financial scams, tax evasion, loan-sharking, public corruption,
political corruption, counterfeiting, blackmail criminal infringement of copyrights, health care fraud,
credit-card scams and the manufacture and sale of illicit narcotics.
Actual crimes and inchoate offences
8. There are instances where a crime has not been completed but nevertheless an offence of a different
kind is committed. These are known as inchoate o f f e n c e s or incomplete crimes. There are three main
inchoate offences: incitement, conspiracy, and attempt.
9. Incitement or solicitation to commit a crime is the crime of asking another person to commit a crime.
Solicitation consists of inciting, counseling, advising, inducing, urging, or commanding another to
commit a felony with the specific intent that the person solicited would commit the crime. Even if the
person who is solicited does not
commit the crime, the person soliciting may be charged with incitement.
10. Conspiracy consists of any agreement between two or more people to commit a criminal offence.
The four elements of conspiracy are:
- an agreement between two or more persons;
- an intent to enter into an agreement;
- an intent to achieve the object of the agreement that is unlawful or one that is lawful but is to be
accomplished by unlawful means;
- an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy by at least one party.
11. Attempt to commit a crime involves trying to commit the crime but failing to complete the intended
actions. The elements of attempt are: (i) an intent to commit the crime, (ii) an overt act beyond mere
preparation, and (iii) an apparent ability to complete the crime. The punishment for attempt depends on
the seriousness of the attempted crime. It is important to keep in mind that a person cannot be charged
with an inchoate offence and the actual crime at the same time.

Crimes with different levels of severity

12. Another commonly used classification of crimes is based on their degree of seriousness or
severity, this classification contains three basic categories: (1) felonies, (2) misdemeanors, and (3)
infractions.
13. Felonies are the most serious offences that lead to longer-term confinement The basic rule is that
any crime from which a person can serve a year or more in jail is a felony. Misdemeanors are less
serious criminal offences for which the person usually receives a fine or a jail term of less than a year.
Finally, infractions are minor violations, such as jaywalking or violations of building codes, for which a
person usually only has to pay a fine and not serve any jail time.
14. Whether a crime is a felony, a misdemeanor, or an infraction can determine in which court the case
is tried and whether the defendant has a right to a jury trial. Some jurisdictions define different degrees
of felony offences (first, second, and third degree murder, for example) and vary the punishment
according to the degree. Some states also have different classes (degrees) of misdemeanors.

Vocabulary
violent crime – crimă/infracțiune violentă tax evasion – evaziune fiscală
white-collar crime (corporate crime) – loan-sharking – cămătărie
criminalitatea gulerelor albe, infracțiuni comise de usury - camătă
persoane influente, crimă corporativă public corruption – corupție publică/în sectorul
cyber crime - criminalitate/infracțiune cibernetică public. Public corruption involves a breach of
organized crime – crimă organizată public trust and/or abuse of position by federal,
abduction, kidnapping – răpire, sechestrare state, or local officials and their private sector
aggravated assault – vătămare corporală gravă accomplices.
false pretence – afirmații mincinoase
outlaw – a interzice
be contrary to – a fi contrar
riot - răscoală
violent disorder – tulburarea liniștii publice
affray - public order offence consisting of the
fighting of one or more persons in a public place
to the terror of ordinary people.
disorderly conduct – comportament
necuviincios/turbulent
public drunkenness – stare de ebrietate
manifestată într-un loc public
gambling – jocuri de noroc
victimless crimes – infracțiune fără victime (ex:
cerșetorie, consum de droguri, prostituție)
detrimental – în detrimentul
legitimate occupation – ocupație legitimă
embezzlement - delapidare
misappropriation of funds – deturnare de fonduri
insider trading – tranzacție cu titluri de valoare
care are la bază folosirea în mod ilegal de
informații cu caracter confidențial
mail and wire fraud – fraudă prin poștă și bancară.
In the United States, mail and wire fraud is any
fraudulent scheme to intentionally deprive another
of property or honest services via mail or wire
communication.
identity theft – furt de identitate
cyberstalking – urmărire în mediul online
harassment - hărțuire
credible threat – amenințare credibilă
immediate family – rude apropiate, membrii
familiei
hacking – piraterie informatică
random - aleatoriu
ongoing – în desfășurare
conspiratorial - conspirativ
pyramid shaped hierarchy – ierarhie piramidală
political patronage – susținere/sponsorizare
politică
protection racket – taxă de protecție
Smuggling – contrabandă, trafic
bootlegging – a face contrabandă
financial scam – escrocherie financiară
political corruption – corupție politică; the use of
powers by government officials or their network
contacts for illegitimate private gain. An illegal act
by an officeholder constitutes political corruption
only if the act is directly related to their official
duties, is done under color of law or involves
trading in influence.(trafic de influență)
internet access – acces la internet
proprietary data – date care constituie obiectul
dreptului de proprietate
identity theft – furt de identitate
counterfeiting/forgery – contrafacere, falsificare
blackmail - șantaj
infringement of copyrights – încălcarea dreptului
de autor
healthcare fraud – fraudă cu asigurări medicale. A
type of white-collar crime that involves the filing
of dishonest health care claims in order to turn a
profit. It includes health insurance fraud, drug
fraud, and medical fraud.
credit-card scam – înșelătorii cu carduri de credit
manufacture - producție
inchoate offence – tentativă; infracțiune în stadiul
incipient. An inchoate offence, preliminary crime,
inchoate crime or incomplete crime is a crime of
preparing for or seeking to commit another crime.
"Inchoate offense" has been defined as the
following: "Conduct deemed criminal without
actual harm being done, provided that the harm
that would have occurred is one the law tries to
prevent."
incitement - instigare
conspiracy – conspirație, complot.
attempt - tentativă
soliciting – prostituție (în criminal law)
inciting - instigare
inducing - a convinge
to urge – a îndemna
overt act – acte pregătitoare ale comiterii unei
infracțiuni
misdemeanor – delict, contravenție
infraction - infracțiune
confinement – detenție, închisoare
jail - închisoare
jaywalking – traversare prin loc nepermis