Map and index
<html> <head> <script type="text/javascript" src="js/jquery-1.3.2.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> $(document).ready(function(){ var mappedItems = $("li").map(function (index) { var replacement = $("<li>").text($(this).text()).get(0); if (index == 0) { $(replacement).text($(replacement).text().toUpperCase()); } return replacement; }); $("#results").append(mappedItems); }); </script> </head> <body> <body> <ul> <li>Abc</li> <li>Bcd</li> <li>Cde</li> </ul> <ul id="results"> </ul> </body> </html>