Can I mention papers I read in my SOP?

[IaMkizzz]

I am writing my SOP. This is one question I came across. I will post my full sop later and might need some help to revise it!

[geekusprimus]

Depends on why. If it's something along the lines of "I've read several papers in this field and find it fascinating," it makes it sound like you're really stretching to prove you can do the work. If there's a particular individual you're interested in working with at a prospective school, it might be helpful to mention that he or she has written papers that were useful in your own research. If you push it just enough, it's a nice compliment and also makes it look like you're actively engaged in your field of interest. If you push it too much or aren't specific enough, though, it just looks like brown-nosing, and it will probably look bad to the admissions committee.

[IaMkizzz]

Depends on why. If it's something along the lines of "I've read several papers in this field and find it fascinating," it makes it sound like you're really stretching to prove you can do the work. If there's a particular individual you're interested in working with at a prospective school, it might be helpful to mention that he or she has written papers that were useful in your own research. If you push it just enough, it's a nice compliment and also makes it look like you're actively engaged in your field of interest. If you push it too much or aren't specific enough, though, it just looks like brown-nosing, and it will probably look bad to the admissions committee.

The reason is that I want to show various skills I acquired from papers and my accomplishment as a result. Do I need to cite those papers if this reason is deemed ok?