Offer, Acceptance, Consideration: Breaking Down Contract Formation

[ameliajohn]

I've been trying to get a better feel for how these three things actually work together in practice, not just theory. Sometimes offer and acceptance seem easy to identify, but consideration still confuses me when the exchange is not straightforward. How do courts generally decide the appropriate presence of all three? Are there common mistakes students make when analyzing these elements? Would love to hear some practical examples to help understand this better, especially on contract law topics.