The ISBD defines nine areas of description. Each area, except area 7, is composed of multiple elements with structured classifications. Elements and areas that do not apply to a particular resource are omitted from the description. Standardized punctuation (colons, semicolons, slashes, dashes, commas, and periods) is used to identify and separate the elements and areas. The order of elements and standardized punctuation make it easier to interpret bibliographic records when one does not understand the language of the description.

• 0: Content form and media type area
• 1: Title and statement of responsibility area, consisting of
  • 1.1 Title proper
  • 1.2 Parallel title
  • 1.3 Other title information
  • 1.4 Statement of responsibility
• 2: Edition area
• 3: Material or type of resource specific area (e.g., the scale of a map or the numbering of a periodical)
• 4: Publication, production, distribution, etc., area
• 5: Material description area (e.g., number of pages in a book or number of CDs issued as a unit)
• 6: Series area
• 7: Notes area
• 8: Resource identifier and terms of availability area (e.g., ISBN, ISSN)

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Bibliographic_Description