What is meant by the term "elements of the offense" and what are those elements?

What is the offense? In what state?

Crimes by and large are state crimes uner the varoius laws of the state, for example theft may have differnet elements from one state to another.

For example, in GA they have ( or at least had a few years ago) a crime of "entering a auto" in that you had the elements of the crime or what has to happen to convict them of the crime.
1. part of the persons body had to enter into the auto, truck or other vechile 2. they could not have permission to enter 3. they entered for the purpose of committing another crime.

So for example on homeless man broke into a car merely to have a place to sleep, he could not be convicted unlesss it was proved he did it to steal something or steal the car.