They are likely referring to the MLA style manual, which is heavily used in some academic areas, and is often the subject of complaints regarding its highly spe

They are likely referring to the MLA style manual, which is heavily used in some academic areas, and is often the subject of complaints regarding its highly specific and easy-to-mistake rules regarding citations: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MLA_Style_Manual https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MLA_Style_Manual