Utility function : Element Factory (Using require pattern) ... A bit perverse as its using require to populate a global utility object. But hey.

app.js

/*global define, window */
define(['jquery'], function ($) {
  'use strict';

  var GU = window.GU || {};

  GU.UTIL = GU.UTIL || {};

  /* Element factory.
   * @param {string} el The name of a DOM element
   * @return {jQuery} a DOM element as a jQuery object
   */
  GU.UTIL.el = function (el){
    return $(document.createElement(el));
  };

  return GU;
});